Feds assessing if Shovel Brigade broke the law

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, July 5, 2000 | 4:19 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Federal law officers accompanied government biologists to northeast Nevada on Wednesday to assess whether a citizen revolt on a dirt road in a national forest harmed a threatened fish in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Hundreds of protesters from across the country converged on tiny Jarbidge, Nev., near the Idaho border on Independence Day to reopen the washed out road despite warnings from the Forest Service the work could threaten the survival of the southernmost U.S. population of the bull trout.

A federal judge denied an injunction sought by the Justice Department to halt the rally a week ago, but warned members of the so-called Shovel Brigade they could be prosecuted for any environmental damage.

"We're going to look at what impact if any that road crew may have caused," said Randi Thompson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"If there was a violation of the Endangered Species Act, we would pursue that. If they didn't get in the water, there shouldn't be too much concern," she said.

Three fish biologists and two law enforcement agents from the agency intended to complete the assessment of the Jarbidge River.

Work crews set up bales of hay along the edge of the river Monday and Tuesday to help guard against any soil getting into the water as they removed a berm of dirt and rock the Forest Service had used to block access to the road.

Organizers insisted they did no damage to the river or its banks, but Thompson said Wednesday it was too soon to tell.

"We did a complete assessment of habitat conditions prior to the event, such as water monitoring, clarity of the water, amount of sediment in the water, the water temperature," Thompson said in a telephone interview from Portland, Ore.

The biologists also surveyed the local population of bull trout, which is estimated to run between 800 and 1,500 throughout the entire Jarbidge River, a tributary of the Snake River.

"They saw one fish in the area right where the work was to be done and six others in an area nearby. So we did have fish in that area and that is our concern," she said.

Forest Service officials planned an independent assessment later in the week, agency spokeswoman Christie Kalkowski said Wednesday.

"There has been no determination what kind of action will take place next. We will consider all of our options," she said.

The Fish and Wildlife Service declared the fish threatened two years ago, entitling it to the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The law prohibits any action that would harm a protected species, including destruction of its habitat.

U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth of Las Vegas warned in a letter last month that if the protesters rebuilt the road they could be in violation of the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and National Environmental Policy Act. Criminal penalties could include up to three years in prison and fines of $50,000 per day of violation.

Matt Holford, the head of Trout Unlimited in Nevada, said any work on the road likely would result in dirt being washed into the river the next time it rains.

The dispute revolves around jurisdiction of the South Canyon Road, which washed out in a flood in 1995. Locals claim the Forest Service has no jurisdiction over the road because it was there long before Congress established the national forest in the early 1900s.

Chanting "Freedom, Freedom," the Shovel Brigade on Tuesday moved a four-ton boulder dubbed the "Liberty Rock" off the road. The crowd cheered as the rock was removed and a pickup truck carrying 90-year-old Helen Wilson, the oldest resident in Jarbidge, drove over the 900-foot section of reopened road.

Some law enforcement officials had feared the confrontation could turn violent, but there were no arrests or any reports of trouble.

"From an agency standpoint, we're just real happy there was no violence, no one was hurt," Kalkowski said.

Thompson agreed.

"It sounded fairly peaceful. We understood they were going to take an anti-government stance but it seemed like a pretty peaceful anti-government stance."