Idaho County commissioners will meet Tuesday to determine if a longstanding and popular backcountry route is a public right of way.
Anticipating a sizable crowd, the hearing has been moved from commission chambers to the district courtroom.
The Milner Trail, also known as the Milner Road, Toll Gate Road and about a half-dozen other names, stretches from Mount Idaho to Florence and the Salmon River beyond. Constructed in 1862, it snakes along ridges dividing the South Fork of the Clearwater River and the Salmon River basins. It has been in use since its completion, is a popular trail for all-terrain vehicle riders and is part of the groomed snowmobile trail system that begins at Fish Creek Meadows, south of Grangeville.
Most of the route is on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. But it also crosses private property. According to the petition, one property owner, Charles Lamm, of Lewiston, has constructed a gate and tank traps that block the route through his land.
Dave Thompson, Bob Hafer and the Idaho Pathfinders, represented by the law firm Givens Pursley of Boise, petition the Idaho County Commission to “validate” the road as public. In their petition, they contend the trail improved access between the Florence gold fields and Mount Idaho and that it crossed land that was then in the public domain. They present evidence that it was specifically validated as public by the Idaho Board of County Commissioners in 1872 and three more times by the Idaho Territorial Legislature, as part of “blanket declarations that all roads then in public use were public roads” in 1864, 1875 and 1881. In 1890, they contend the Idaho Legislature appropriated $50,000 to improve the trail and say a public right of way existed when the Lamm property was patented in 1909. They also say an 1866 federal law known as Revised Statute 2477 granted rights of way to local governments for roads built on unreserved land in the public domain. They contend the Milner Road was built prior to establishment of the Nez Perce National Forest in 1908 and was constructed on unpatented land.
The Idaho Pathfinders and Snow-drifters have maintained the road since the 1970s, according to the petition.
“It has been used for public access for 160 years,” Thompson said in a phone interview.
He also noted the road provides access to other parcels of private land, including his own, that are beyond Lamm’s property. He compares the Milner Road to any county or other public road that crosses private property.
“It’s a public access issue,” he said. “That road belongs to the public. It’s just like anybody who owns property on both sides of a public road, you don’t own that road, you own up to it, but you don’t own it.”
The petitioners are asking that Lamm be ordered to remove the gate and other obstacles.
Lamm could not be reached for comment. In an Idaho County Free Press article published on July 27, Lamm said public use of the road through his property has produced problems like trespassing, driving at excessive speeds, shooting, and timber and firewood theft.
“I can’t enjoy my property. The reason I bought it is to enjoy the peace and tranquility,” the paper quoted Lamm as saying.
The hearing starts at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the courtroom on the second floor of the Idaho County Courthouse.
Barker is the outdoors editor of the Lewiston Tribune. He may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
