Road to Jarbidge stays open in federal
court decision
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A dispute over two
miles of dirt road and a threatened fish
in a national forest just south of the
Idaho line may be over after nearly a
decade.
A decision signed on Tuesday by U.S.
District Court Judge Roger Hunt lifted a
stay freezing a 2001 agreement, in which
the government had agreed not to contest
Elko County's claim to a right of way on
the South Canyon Road.
Hunt emphasized that the settlement
agreement does not transfer any interest
in land. Elko County's claim will remain
dormant and Elko County and the government
will work together on the road, he said.
"There is a huge gulf between granting
someone an interest in land and refusing
to argue about whether they have such an
interest," Hunt said.
The 2001 agreement settled a federal
lawsuit that charged Elko County had
undertaken illegal repairs in 1998 on
washed-out portions of South Canyon Road
which runs alongside a fork in the
Jarbidge River. The river's population of
bull trout was declared threatened under
the Endangered Species Act in 1999.
Under the settlement agreement, the
Forest Service promised not to challenge
Elko County's claim to a right of way on
South Canyon Road and the county promised
not to perform future repair work on the
road without prior Forest Service
approval.
After the agreement was reached in
2001, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in
San Francisco allowed two environmental
groups - The Wilderness Society and the
Great Old Broads for Wilderness - to
intervene in the case.
U.S. District Court Judge David Hagen
ruled the settlement was not fair to the
public interest because it circumvented
the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act, National Environmental Policy Act and
Forest Service regulations. Hagen stayed
the effectiveness of the agreement pending
the Forest Service's compliance with these
laws. The lawsuit continued until
Tuesday's decision.
Elko District Attorney Gary Woodbury
said he was pleased that Judge Hunt found
the settlement agreement was reasonable,
but told KELK radio in Elko he expected
The Wilderness Society and the Great Old
Broads for Wilderness to appeal.
Michael Freeman, an attorney for the
environmental groups, said he was
reviewing the decision.
"We're obviously distressed at the
court's ruling, but we're still reviewing
and considering all our options at this
point," Freeman said.
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