Victor Mayor Scott Fitzgerald said the surest path to economic viability is a viable trails system.
“Our number one asset is our connection to our public lands,” said Fitzgerald, who initiated the Southern Valley Trail Project last summer. As connections to nature, “trails are an important economic driver for our area.”
The project is gathering a comprehensive collection of input from snowmobilers, mountain- and dirt bikers, hikers, skiers and horse and cattle users on their perspectives on how to best use and enhance the trail system through the southern Teton Valley.
The areas in question include Forest Service land adjacent to Victor from Grove Creek to Mud Lake “that wraps around the southern border of Victor,” Fitzgerald said. “The intention is to focus on trails, and trailheads, that are quickly and easily accessible at the southern end of Teton Valley.”
Once all user groups reach a consensus on how the system can best serve everyone, their input will go to the Victor City Council, which will present recommendations to the U. S. Forest Service Teton Basin Ranger District. The hope is to include the recommendations as amendments to the Big Hole subsection of the USFS travel plan.
Jay Pence, district ranger, said amending the existing plan could be a lengthy process, taking up to a year or longer.
“We don’t want to rush this,” Fitzgerald said. “We want to make sure we hear back from everyone.”
Getting consensus requires the groups to find areas of compromise and a better understanding of each other’s needs, he said. No one wants to see loss of access to prime trail links.
“My main concern is losing the snowmobile accesses we’ve always had,” said snowmobile enthusiast Wade Kaufman.
Snowmobilers have to battle common misperceptions about them, he said, including the vision of snowmobilers “chasing wildlife down to their ultimate sweaty death. It’s completely false.”
One or two bad apples in any user group can cause a really bad confrontation, Kaufman said. Complaints usually come from those who are irritated that snowmobilers are there, interfering with their wilderness experience.
“A lot of people don’t like motors, and that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “In our group, we try to make a more concerted effort to slow down when we see people hiking and skiing. All it takes is a kind gesture to create that bridge. If we build walls, we’ll lose our bridges.”
The bottom line for Kaufman is that all trail users maintain their present accesses.
Zach Smith, representing the hikers' group, said he sees trail issues as resolvable, and that problems with snowmobilers and other motorized users are the exception, rather than the rule.
It's not the goal of the project to shut down motorized trail users, but rather to keep open the trails being used and maximizing the possibilities of activities in the southern part of the Valley, he said.
"Keeping a balance of activities is key," Smith said.
Most of his friends in the motorized user groups are into everything, and don't want trails shut down.
"They like the variety," said Smith. "Nobody in the user groups belongs to just one. They want to keep everything open to everyone."
Originally scheduled to come before the Victor council in March, the SVTP data are still being sifted and fine-tuned, which could push back a hearing date.
Fitzgerald envisions a master plan developed for the whole south end of the valley, including working collaboratively to implement the plan once consensus is reached. The project still needs to hear from ATV users.
The USFS did a travel plan for the region in 2006. Fitzgerald said the plan, as it is, could be enhanced and strengthened through the project's recommendations.
"It can be a living document," he said, "and it's made to be amended and refined."
Fitzgerald said he'd like to see this as a pilot project that could spread countywide, involving collaboration between the municipalities and the county.
"We're all land managers, and we should be interacting and coordinating with each other," he said. "A strong, diverse trail network is a very attractive community asset. Every time we can build a better network of trails in Teton Valley, we're going to strengthen our local economy."
No requests for funding are envisioned at this point, and all trail enhancements and maintenance would still depend on community involvement. Grant applications could be made for specific projects in the future.
To contact Fitzgerald call (208) 787-2940 or email scott@victorcityidaho.com
To contact Ken Levy e-mail reporter3@tetonvalleynews.net.
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