Posted by John Eickhof on Monday, November 14, 2005 at 11:55AM :
Here's a note that O.Q. Chris Johnson sent me prior to the letter in the post below! It should explain things better too!!!
"Hi all, I don't know why I should be confused about what has happened over this
Jarbidge road controversy so let's review a little history to see if you are as
confused as I think I am.
July, 1998. The Elko County Commission ordered the Elko Road department to Jarbidge
to repair the 1.5 mile of county road which was damaged in a 100 year flood of 1995.
Gloria Flora the state director of the USFS managed to get the Nevada Dept. of
Environmental Protection to issue a cease and desist order citing violations of the
Clean Water Act. That was eventually struck down by Judge Wagner of Lovelock.
December 1998. Gloria Flora orchestrated the backfill of 900 feet of county road
which the county had sought to repair in July. Once it was backfilled and contoured
to the hillside she insisted there is no road there, there never was a road there.
The Elko Road crew entered on federal land and damaged it so she had to see that the
damage was repaired and sent Elko County a bill for $420,000.00
After that were the activities of the Jarbidge Shovel Brigade and moving Liberty
Rock to open the road on July 4th of 2000.
Fast forward to 2005. For the past few years hardy 4 wheelers have been driving
their rigs over rocks, though the water and straddling deep ditches to make their
way to the Trailhead where a FS Outhouse is located. The road from the Pine Creek
Campground to the Outhouse was a moderately difficult course for 4 wheelers.
Well this week the FS decided to remove the Outhouse which was our destination at
the Trailhead and to be able to do that, they have repaired the road to the point
where an average 4 wd SUV could drive to the Trailhead.
So why couldn't the Elko Road crew do the same job in 1998?
The FS followed the NEPA process and did an EIS before Bob Vaught issued his Record
of Decision on the Jarbidge Road but Elko County is not required to do a NEPA study.
All Elko County has to do is go repair their roads so citizens can get around the
county.
My confusion rests in the fact that Elko County was diverted from doing it's job of
repairing a county road in 1998 but the FS this week, in 2005, did the same job the
county would have done had it's efforts not been stifled by the FS.
By next spring, I am sure the road repairs done by the FS this week will have been
rearranged by nature during the spring flood of 2006 but I think that Elko County
should follow up and repair the road to the same standard left this week by the FS.
Now that the Outhouse is gone, I think we need to fabricate one in town and take it
up there next 4th of July and install our Outhouse on the site of the one the FS
took out this week. We would be installing the new Outhouse on the Elko County right
of way and not on federally managed lands. My thoughts on this controversy. All are
welcome to reply. Chris "
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