Judge Keeps Gate On Disputed Forest Road Forest Service Wins Restraining Order Against Boundary County Officials’ Defiant Plan To Reopen Road

A federal judge has ordered Boundary County to keep its bulldozers off Boundary Creek Road.

Judge Edward Lodge issued a restraining order against the county and its commissioners Friday. It comes just days after commissioners announced plans to defy the U.S. Forest Service and illegally rebuild the gated road.

Forest Service officials asked for the restraining order to stop county-recruited volunteers from yanking the gate out of the road. The Forest Service feared the act of civil disobedience could lead to vandalism in other parts of the forest, which is home to endangered grizzly bears and caribou.

“The restraining order is a tool we have to keep the discussion logical and rational and not let it spill out into emotion and misinformation,” said Dave Wright, supervisor for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

“The people of Boundary County and the commissioners have always been friends of us. I absolutely want to avoid a confrontation. We need to deal with this within the law.”

Commissioners and about 1,000 residents have protested the road closure. Commissioners have claimed the historic road was built before the forest was established in 1906. It should, by law, be kept open and maintained for the public, they’ve argued.

The Forest Service researched the county’s claim and found the road was built in 1913, seven years after the forest was established.

Instead of appealing the Forest Service ruling, commissioners declared the road a public right of way. They arranged this week for volunteers to go up and remove the Forest Service gate and start fixing Boundary Creek Road.

Mike Weland, a spokesman for the county, said commissioners and residents still will meet at the gated road today at 9 a.m. The county will not, however, violate the federal judge’s restraining order, he said.

Forest Service officials were a bit surprised by the commissioners’ drastic declaration. They agreed to give the county until August to mount a legal challenge and try to keep the road open. But Wright said it appeared the county wanted to make its point about the road and access to the national forest by provoking a showdown.

“That’s proven time and time again to be unproductive,” he said. “In my mind it’s not worth getting someone hurt over a stupid gate or road.”

The Forest Service won’t have uniformed officers at the site today.

The county sheriff’s department does intend to be present just to ensure there is no trouble. If anyone violates the order and works on the road or drives past the gate, they will face a federal judge, Wright said.

“If someone goes up there and rips the gate out we will hold them responsible, but we are not going to make a scene of it.”

A few environmental groups have called the Forest Service and complained the county is being treated with kid gloves, district ranger Elaine Zieroth said.

Some environmentalists plan to show up at the road during the county’s rally, possibly to stage their own protest in support of closing the road. They also intend to document how the Forest Service treats county residents versus how Earth First! protesters have been dealt with, Zieroth said.

Those who support the road closure have been encouraged not to stage a protest at the same time. “Tempers are going to be high and this county doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for environmentalists, so it might not be the best time to have a rally or be real visible,” Zieroth said.

Boundary Creek Road leads to prime hunting and berry-picking areas in the Selkirk Mountains. It also provides access to the old Continental Mine. The road is steep and tends to wash out. It’s expensive to fix and the washed out silt could harm bull trout, a threatened species that thrives in Boundary Creek, the Forest Service said.

The Forest Service plans to obliterate about seven miles of the road and close it for good. Much of the same area of the forest would still be accessible by a different road.

What’s next Mike Weland, a spokesman for Boundary County, said commissioners and residents still will meet at the gated road today at 9 a.m. The county will not, however, violate the federal judge’s restraining order, he said. Some environmentalists plan to show up at the road during the county’s rally, possibly to stage their own protest in support of closing the road.