Nuck Woodward road to close despite protests

By Patsy Stoddard
Editor

The Emery County Commission heard from Darren Olsen of the forest service. The Emery County Commission requested Olsen come to commission meeting to discuss the Nuck Woodward road which is slated for a seasonal closure beginning Sept. 5.
Commissioner Lynn Sitterud said there have been letters to the editor in the paper and misinformation out there concerning the commission and their stance on the road closure. Sitterud said the commission has not had a formal meeting with the forest service on this issue. The commission was not involved in any way in the decision to close Nuck Woodward road.
In the public lands meeting on Aug. 1, they sent a recommendation to the commission that the road be kept open until proper scoping can be done.
Olsen explained the Seeley Fire in 2012 burned 48,000 acres in Huntington Canyon. During the subsequent rain events, there was flooding and the Nuck Woodward road was damaged. Each flood event washed out any work that was done to the road so the forest service kept the road closed for three years after the fire. During that time the road was closed Olsen said they received feedback from many people that the closure provided increased hunting opportunities in Nuck Woodward.
Olsen passed out maps which showed the trails and roads on the Manti. He listed miles of roads as 1,093 and miles of motorized trails 212.
Olsen said with Nuck Woodward road closed users can get away from motorized use. On June 27, last year, prior to the re-opening of the road the forest service went on a field trip with backcountry horsemen and others to look at Nuck Woodward road. The road was reopened after some roadwork by Carbon County. At that time a memorandum of understanding was signed between Emery and Carbon counties and the forest service that Carbon County would maintain the road and keep it open.
Olsen said through those meetings, the idea for a seasonal closure came about. Olsen maintains Carbon County and Emery County as well as the trails committee and public lands committee were aware the forest service was planning this seasonal closure. He said there will be people who like the idea and those who do not.
Olsen said the forest service is not proposing any physical changes to the ground, NEPA deals with ground disturbances. In code 19-09 Chapter 30 it allows the forest service to go in and inact temporary (emergency) closures. A seasonal closure of Nuck Woodward Road is legal under this code. Olsen said there will be access this summer for motorized vehicles until Sept. 5 when the road will close to all but foot and horse traffic.
He said when Nuck Woodward was closed after the fire, there was an opportunity there for hunting in a quiet environment. This seasonal closure has no bearing on wilderness. Wilderness is being looked at in the forest plan revision, but these are unrelated matters. Snowmobile access would be allowed after the seasonal closure expires on Dec. 31, 2017.
Olsen said if the forest service wished to make this seasonal closure an annual event, they would go through the NEPA process, they would allow public comments and take them into consideration. He said with 1,300 miles of roads and trails there is a lot of opportunity for motorized use. He said they try to maintain balance between motorized and non-motorized use, hiking use, developed and dispersed camping spots.
In the past decade they have actively pursued a program to create the DesBee Dove trail which is motorized. The forest service has increased the size of 29 trails. Since 2000 they have included 29 new miles of trails.
Alan Petersen said there seems to be a discrepancy with the forest service saying they have had the support of Carbon and Emery County commissions on this seasonal closure. Petersen said he talked to Commissioner Casey Hopes who was not in favor of closure and he talked to Daniel Campbell from the Carbon County roads and he agreed a seasonal closure was better than a permanent one.
Commissioner Keith Brady said the Emery County Commission had not given official support of the closure. He said he was on the field trip last year and the topic at that time was what needed to be done to get the road open again. At that time a culvert needed to be installed and the road was re-opened. Commissioner Brady said the forest service talking to select people was a type of ad-hoc scoping.
Olsen said their gathering of comments was a form of scoping. Commissioner Brady wondered if the forest service had these letters of support.
Olsen said their scoping was based on phone calls where they gathered view points.
Some audience members were leary of the word closure, they recalled times when temporary closures became permanent. The audience member said he had driven the road the day before and the road was in excellent shape. There are a lot of older people who have hunted that canyon forever that will no longer be able to do so. He said there is a petition going around that has gathered signatures protesting the seasonal closure of Nuck Woodward road.
Olsen said there has been a lot of misinformation about the closure.
Petersen said there is 5.5 miles of road in Nuck Woodward. Off the road there are 8,000 acres without roads that can be accessed by horses and hikers. He believes the horse and foot traffic were spoiled when the road was closed due to the fire. “It’s selfish, they have 100 percent access to ride a horse or walk,” said Petersen. He said they want to take away the 5.5 mile road so they don’t have to see my truck parked at the bottom of the hill.
Olsen said, “There are people looking for the opportunity to get away.”
Petersen said, “It’s already there, there are non-motorized trails all through there.”
Commissioner Brady suggested they go through the process.
Commissioner Sitterud said he is elected to represent the people of Emery County. He has had many phone calls from people against the closure. He has not been in any meeting where the commission voiced their collective support of the closure.
County Attorney Mike Olsen said with the stroke of a pen, the forest service can close the road. Darren Olsen said yes the order is signed through the rest of this year. There is a process a long term closure would need to go through Environmental Impact study, NEPA, and environmental analysis.
Darren Olsen suggested anyone wanting to receive information from the forest service, get on their email list.
Mike Olsen said the seasonal closure is until Dec. 31, 2017 and then what? Darren Olsen said there have been no decisions made as to the roads status after that date.
Olsen said what he wants is if the Emery County Commission said no it shouldn’t happen then it wouldn’t happen (the closure). Mike Olsen said he’s talked to hunters and even though they love the idea, they are fearful of one person with the stroke of a pen, closing a road.
Darren Olsen said any permanent closure would go through the process. Darren Olsen said they hear from people who are looking for these hunting opportunities.
Commissioner Brady said they invited the forest service to present because they wanted to clear up the misconception that Emery County was involved in the road closure in any way.