Protesters Fight Federal Land Policy
By Sandra CherebAssociated Press Writer
Monday, July 3, 2000; 7:36 p.m. EDT
JARBIDGE, Nev. –– Shovel-wielding protesters from across the country
streamed into a remote mountain hamlet for an Independence
Day weekend rally to chip away at a pile of debris and the
federal government's authority over a washed-out dirt road.
The event is the latest fight in a battle between Washington officials and
locals upset with federal land policy.
The atmosphere has been so charged that the Forest Service
supervisor in charge of national forests in Nevada abruptly
announced her resignation in November, citing "hostility
and distrust" toward federal employees in the state.
On Monday, organized work crews of about 40 at a time were
bused into the narrow canyon in shifts to level a rock berm
that the Forest Service constructed to block access on the road.
The work could lead to jail or fines for protesters who
have been threatened with prosecution if they violate clean
water laws or disturb habitat of the threatened bull trout
that lives in the nearby Jarbidge River.
To outsiders, the hoopla over a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt
road near the Nevada-Idaho line might be
hard to understand. The road doesn't go much of anywhere, just
to a few campgrounds, an outhouse and a trailhead to a
wilderness area in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
But to folks here, South Canyon Road has become the "line
in the sand" against federal land policies since it washed
out during a flood in 1995, triggering a festering feud
between federal authorities and Elko County.
"I think this is a great day for local government and it is a step in the right
direction of us in the West who are tired of the government telling us what
is best for us," said Demar Dahl, president of the Shovel Brigade.
Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife officials didn't plan to have uniformed
personnel at the rally. Security guards hired by rally organizers directed
traffic and others on horseback kept workers away from the river.
Federal authorities have blocked efforts to reopen the
road, fearing any work would damage the stream bed and
jeopardize the existence of the bull trout population, which might
be as small 700 in Nevada.
To protect the stream bed from erosion along the roadside, protesters
organized by the Shovel Brigade, built a berm of straw
Monday. Others dug around a huge boulder blocking the road that
they hope to remove Tuesday using chains, ropes and people power.
About 500 protesters arrived from several western states and some came
from as far away as Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, but
predictions of crowds as large as 5,000 seemed optimistic.
The protesters were peaceful, friendly and firm.
"Their fight is my fight back there," said Scott Traudt, 34, a commercial
fisherman from Warwick, R.I. who said loggers, ranchers and others like
himself who make their living from the land are frustrated by increased
government regulation. "We've had enough. We're all getting unified."
© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000703/aponline193636_000.htm
------------------
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By Sandra CherebAssociated Press Writer
Monday, July 3, 2000; 7:36 p.m. EDT
JARBIDGE, Nev. –– Shovel-wielding protesters from across the country
streamed into a remote mountain hamlet for an Independence
Day weekend rally to chip away at a pile of debris and the
federal government's authority over a washed-out dirt road.
The event is the latest fight in a battle between Washington officials and
locals upset with federal land policy.
The atmosphere has been so charged that the Forest Service
supervisor in charge of national forests in Nevada abruptly
announced her resignation in November, citing "hostility
and distrust" toward federal employees in the state.
On Monday, organized work crews of about 40 at a time were
bused into the narrow canyon in shifts to level a rock berm
that the Forest Service constructed to block access on the road.
The work could lead to jail or fines for protesters who
have been threatened with prosecution if they violate clean
water laws or disturb habitat of the threatened bull trout
that lives in the nearby Jarbidge River.
To outsiders, the hoopla over a 1.5-mile stretch of dirt
road near the Nevada-Idaho line might be
hard to understand. The road doesn't go much of anywhere, just
to a few campgrounds, an outhouse and a trailhead to a
wilderness area in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
But to folks here, South Canyon Road has become the "line
in the sand" against federal land policies since it washed
out during a flood in 1995, triggering a festering feud
between federal authorities and Elko County.
"I think this is a great day for local government and it is a step in the right
direction of us in the West who are tired of the government telling us what
is best for us," said Demar Dahl, president of the Shovel Brigade.
Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife officials didn't plan to have uniformed
personnel at the rally. Security guards hired by rally organizers directed
traffic and others on horseback kept workers away from the river.
Federal authorities have blocked efforts to reopen the
road, fearing any work would damage the stream bed and
jeopardize the existence of the bull trout population, which might
be as small 700 in Nevada.
To protect the stream bed from erosion along the roadside, protesters
organized by the Shovel Brigade, built a berm of straw
Monday. Others dug around a huge boulder blocking the road that
they hope to remove Tuesday using chains, ropes and people power.
About 500 protesters arrived from several western states and some came
from as far away as Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, but
predictions of crowds as large as 5,000 seemed optimistic.
The protesters were peaceful, friendly and firm.
"Their fight is my fight back there," said Scott Traudt, 34, a commercial
fisherman from Warwick, R.I. who said loggers, ranchers and others like
himself who make their living from the land are frustrated by increased
government regulation. "We've had enough. We're all getting unified."
© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000703/aponline193636_000.htm
------------------
Need help writing a letter to Congress or whomever?
Do you have a great letter or post that you would like to share with us?
Then stop by the NEW 2nd Amendment Activist's 'Copy & Paste' Forum!!!