As the Willow Creek Fire has been extinguished south of Smoot, concerns have ignited over suppression efforts performed by contracted workers for the U.S. Forest Service. These concerns arose following a since deleted Facebook video that showed a large hole dug at a gate leading into the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Willow Creek.

Monday afternoon, Greys River District Ranger Justin Laycock and Kemmerer District Ranger Adam Calkins met with a group of about 20 people made up of local landowners and ranchers. Lincoln County Commissioners Kent Connelly and Mel Shumway, Senator Dan Dockstader and a representative from U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis’ office were also present. The group met south of Smoot in the Gannet Hills area, which lies roughly 3-4 miles north of where the Willow Creek Fire burned. Three different routes within the adjoining national forest were the topics of concern.

Ranger Laycock said his goal for the meeting was to determine what kind of future use the residents wanted in regards to open access, including motorized vs non-motorized. “My intentions are not to close down access to the forest,” explained Laycock. “In fact, we’re doing quite a few improvements on the Fish Creek Road that runs into some of the heart of this country. We were able to add some drainage and do some smoothing out of that road to increase public access.”

According to Laycock, he gave direction to crews to limit motorized access onto the forest as they worked on suppression repair projects north of the Willow Creek Fire, including areas adjacent to privately owned land. This was in response to requests over the years from local ranchers and various members of the public that motorized use needed to be limited in the area, according to Laycock. However, Laycock stated that some of the work done by the crews was done in excess, with their methods including digging large holes at gates, digging trenches and turning roads into an impassable state by “dispersing woody debris and shrubs” and leaving them on top of the road. This not only limited motorized access, but blocked all access, including the ability for ranchers to move cattle on and off of the forest.

“I’m supposed to get my cattle out by the 25th and I can’t get them out,” explained one rancher in attendance. “For the last six years I’ve been training them to go to certain spots, but my cows are everywhere right now.”

“Let’s get it so cows can pass back through there as quickly as possible,” Layock responded.

After the discussion, which lasted more than 30 minutes, a portion of the group drove up County Road 161 to the gate leading into the national forest. There a road was observed which had been completely covered by trees and brush that had intentionally been pulled down. Laycock reiterated that the mitigation was far beyond what was intended, and said he would direct crews to begin clearing the road so cattle could pass through.

Ranger Calkins also noted that the work in question is on the north side of the ridge, which only has access through private land with no public access points. One of the landowners does allow access to the public through his property, however a public access easement does not exist. The Willow Creek area is only publicly accessible through Fish Creek Road, which begins off Highway 89 on the other side of the ridge near the Salt River Summit. No public access points to the Fish Creek Road were restricted by the mitigation measures, according to Laycock.

In regards to the video posted to social media showing a pit dug up at a gate leading into the forest, Layock said the holes had already been filled before the Monday meeting. Skye Clark, a local rancher who posted the video to Facebook, told SVI Media she recorded the video on Wednesday, September 10. Clark said she was told the hole had been filled in on Saturday, September 13.

The video shows a large pit dug at the gate on the forest service side of the property line, not only making it impassible by motorized vehicles but also impossible to herd cattle through. In fact, almost any sort of access was difficult due to the pit, which was located roughly one mile west of where the group met, on Clark’s property boundary near Willow Creek. Multiple pits of similar size were dug at different gates and along the forest boundary next to private property.

According to Clark, she deleted the video from Facebook as a courtesy after she was told the hole had been filled in and the roads would be fixed. “I will put it back on soon if they don’t follow through,” stated Clark. “The destruction is incomprehensible. They did more damage in two days than 150 plus years of all the public combined. I hope we can put it back to the way it was.”

Future conversations are expected to be had in regards to the area, specifically surrounding the amount of access that should be allowed and how much motorized use should be permitted, something that the group in attendance appeared to be split on.

According to Laycock, the route in question, FSR203, is currently not listed for motorized use. The forest service will continue reviewing management options for this area.