Elko Commissioners delay vote on fed agreement until after shovel rally

Sandra Chereb

Thursday, June 29, 2000 | 9:33 a.m.

ELKO, Nev. - Local, state and federal officials did their best here Wednesday night to put a positive spin on efforts to resolve a festering conflict involving a remote dirt road and a threatened fish.

But those efforts did little to quell the resentment of many residents, who urged Elko County Commissioners not to let the federal government's threat of a lawsuit bully them into signing an agreement aimed at resolving the dispute over South Canyon Road in the tiny hamlet of Jarbidge.

"The grand scheme is to take away our rights and liberties," said resident Bob St. Louis. "If you don't believe me, ask tobacco companies, gun makers, ranchers, loggers, fisherman (and) Bill Gates."

About 80 people attended the special commission meeting on the proposed agreement.

Most were opposed. Only one urged commissioners to accept it.

"There is no evil in this agreement. Only opportunity," said Elko resident John Rice.

After a 3 1/2 -hour hearing, Elko County commissioners said they needed more time to consider the agreement and voted unanimously to delay action until after the Fourth of July - when a group called the Shovel Brigade plans to reclaim the road with picks and shovels.

The Justice Department is trying to stop the shovel revolt led by Demar Dahl, an Elko County rancher who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992. Dahl is also an appointee of Gov. Kenny Guinn to the Nevada Environmental Commission.

The government is seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the protesters off of national forest land during the event. A similar order prevented a previous effort to reclaim the road orchestrated by Assemblyman John Carpenter, Elko lawyer Grant Gerber and O.Q. Chris Johnson from going forward last fall.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro listened to arguments Wednesday from Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre, who said the Shovel Brigade was "sticking their finger in the eye of the federal government."

The government contends the group has not applied for the permits needed to reopen the road along the Jarbidge River.

Gerber, Dahl's attorney, will give his arguments against the motion during an 11 a.m. hearing today. The judge is then expected to rule.

Dahl has said a court order won't stop the work planned to reopen the road and reiterated his resolve at Wednesday night's commission meeting.

"I am offended the Forest Service is telling me I can't even stand on South Canyon Road," he said. "But .... I have a constitutional right to be there. And God willing, I will be," he said to cheers from the audience.

Representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, the state Division of Environmental Protection and Elko County briefed citizens on the tentative agreement that was reached after three months of court-ordered mediation.

At the heart of the issue is a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt road that was washed out by a flood in 1995. The road runs adjacent to the Jarbidge River, home of the southernmost population of bull trout. It leads to campgrounds at the edge of a wilderness area in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The county maintains that the Forest Service promised to fix the road but never did. Three years later, commissioners declared the road crucial to fire protection efforts and a county crew began repairs, but stopped when ordered to by the state.

"The only mistake the county made was not finishing the job," Johnson said.

Afterwards, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, acting on a petition from Trout Unlimited, declared the bull trout an endangered species in an emergency listing. The designation was later downgraded to threatened.

Under the proposed settlement, the government agrees to rebuild the road but only if environmental studies conclude it can be done without harming the fish. The agreement would also absolve the county from fines for alleged violations of the Endangered Species and Clean Water acts, but does not recognize the county's claim of road ownership.

Forest Service officials tried to assure residents they want to work together to end their conflicts and resolve the standoff.

Regional Forester Jack Blackwell said the agreement opens a "new era" of cooperation between the federal entity and local interests.

"I don't want to see us continue to have confrontations," he said.

Humboldt-Toiyabe Supervisor Bob Vaught, who took over the job in February, conceded the proposed agreement isn't perfect.

"I have a sincere interest in trying to work through the differences that we have," he said.

But Vaught said the agreement is "good for the fish, good for the people of Jarbidge and good for our relationship."

But it's the agreement's emphasis on bull trout - a fish that depends on cold, clear water - that rankles critics.

"Bull trout are a relic from the glacial ice age and will probably go the way of the dinosaurs," Carpenter said. "They also eat their young.

"If Trout Unlimited is so concerned about the bull trout, they should install a refrigeration system in the stream."

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