Elko County road issue could lead to federal lawsuit

Greg Tuttle

Friday, July 14, 2000 | 11:35 a.m.

The war of words between residents of a rural Nevada county and the federal government has heated up again, less than two weeks after a peaceful Independence Day protest drew hundreds to the small dirt road at the center of the debate.

The U. S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas said Thursday a decision by the Elko County Commission to again delay signing an agreement over the disputed South Canyon Road near the small town of Jarbidge could result in a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the leader of a group known as the Shovel Brigade, which has challenged the closure of the road following a 1995 flood, said the threat of a lawsuit by the federal government would not deter them.

"Threats and intimidation is just the way they've been doing business with us," said Demar Dahl, who organized the July 4 protest. "They've been acting like a bully in a schoolyard the whole time."

Dahl was reacting to a statement released Thursday by U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth. The statement said the failure of the Elko County Commission Wednesday night to ratify a settlement agreement was a "rejection of the mediation in favor of litigation."

"In this case, no decision is a decision," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre, who was involved in the negotiations with Elko County officials for a settlement agreement. "There was nothing in the discussion (Wednesday) that led anyone to believe there is hope for resolution."

At issue is a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt road washed out by floods five years ago. The road leads to a popular wilderness area in a remote section of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

Officials with the U.S. Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service sparked the debate when they shut down a county effort to reopen the road several years ago. The federal agencies said the area was critical habitat for the threatened bull trout, which lives in the Jarbidge River that flows near the road.

A huge rock and dirt berm was placed across the entrance of the road to prevent its reopening.