Jarbidge in the News


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South Canyon Road deal approved by magistrate


By GARY BÉGIN April 03, 2001


Federal Magistrate Robert McQuaid heard good news from almost all sides
yesterday afternoon during the South Canyon Road teleconference.

U.S. Attorney Blaine Welsh, speaking from Las Vegas, told the judge he had
a
verbal commitment from the Assistant U.S. Attorney General to approve the
deal and that he already had signatures from all other parties involved
on
the federal government's side.
Elko County District Attorney Gary Woodbury, joined in his Elko office by
his
assistant Kristin McQueary and Elko County Commissioners Brad Roberts and
Mike Nannini, told the judge county board Chairman Nolan Lloyd was ready
to
sign the deal as soon as it was given him by Welsh's office.
Assemblyman John Carpenter, speaking from Carson City, said likewise and
thanked the judge for his efforts in bringing the historic rapprochement
between the government entities.
The judge told Welsh to have the deal, signed by all parties that agree
to
sign, in his office by April 16. As of yesterday, only Elko lawyer Grant
Gerber and county Republican Party Chairman O.Q. "Chris" Johnson have
refused
to sign the agreement.
The judge asked Welsh what the U.S. Attorney's Office was planning "to do
with Gerber and Johnson" and Welsh replied no decision has been made yet.
McQuaid called the deal "a good settlement on behalf of everybody."
"Everybody gave something, everybody got something," he said.
McQuaid ended the 15-minute phone call with words some thought they'd never
hear, "this case ... is done and settled."
McQueary said afterwards, "I'm glad it's over."
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor Bob Vaught said yesterday, "The
Forest Service will consider any plan to reconstruct South Canyon Road
submitted by Elko County, along with reasonable alternatives."
"The Forest Service and Elko County can now work on road issues important
to
us both and collaborate on projects that will benefit the environment of
the
West Fork of the Jarbidge River," Vaught said.
"This agreement protects the interests of the United States and avoids the
uncertainty and delays of continued litigation," Kathryn Landreth, U.S.
attorney for the District of Nevada, said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife chief Bob Williams said, "The agreement does not
take
away our ability to protect and recover the bull trout."
Williams said the Forest Service will consult with his agency and then a
determination will be made to "determine whether the planned activities
will
adversely affect the bull trout and, if so, consider any proposed mitigation
measures."
Earlier comments made by Williams put a kink in settlement negotiations
with
the Jarbidge Shovel Brigade.
After the county and U.S. Justice Department settled their case, the Brigade
and its President Demar Dahl, speaking from his Fallon office, said
"negotiations have failed."
He told McQuaid the Justice Department should rewrite the agreement to
specify no "pre-decisional" comments predicting the failure of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) will be made like the ones made by Williams
in a recent Associated Press article.
Williams' statements, according to Dahl, demonstrated he was "negotiating
in
bad faith."
"To say the road will never be built because it will never pass NEPA is
a
pre-decisional statement," Dahl said after the teleconference.
"I told the judge the man was making predictions about the county failing
NEPA before NEPA ever even began," Dahl said.
The Justice Department, as represented by Welsh, agreed to not make
pre-decisional statements, but told Dahl they would have to go through their
chain of command to reword any agreements.
In the meantime McQuaid said he would set dates for discovery leading to
a
trial date, but Dahl said he didn't think the trial would ever come to pass.
Dahl and the Brigade were charged with trespassing during the Fourth of
July
rally held in Jarbidge to remove the huge boulder blocking the South Canyon
Road from vehicle use.
Dahl has said many times that he is the only individual actually liable
financially and criminally for actions taken that day and that individuals
Johnson, Gerber and Carpenter were never actually liable for anything except
to heed an injunction against them working on the road without county
permission.
In a surprise move late Friday, the Wilderness Society and the Great Old
Broads For Wilderness, a grassroots group dedicated to "cleaning up" after
groups like the Brigade, filed intervening motions to prevent the deal from
reaching a conclusion (see separate story on Page A8).
Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. will not contest the county's
sovereignty rights (RS2477) over the road and the county agrees to consult
with the Forest Service and obtain any necessary permits before it engages
in
reconstruction or repair of the road, to include possibly going through
the
NEPA process.


"the extreme environmental community
makes up in shrillness what they
lack in common sense."
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO)




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WELNDMN!WELNDMN!WELNDMNWELNDMN!
ahh screw it call me Mark :D
No matter what you do or say someone will take it too seriously