{"id":4734,"date":"2018-10-01T14:01:33","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T21:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=4734"},"modified":"2025-04-26T16:31:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T22:31:22","slug":"texas-billionaires-put-gates-on-popular-forest-service-road-near-boise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=4734","title":{"rendered":"Texas billionaires put gates on popular Forest Service road near Boise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BY CHADD CRIPE<\/span><\/p>\n

ccripe@idahostatesman.com\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0September 28, 2018<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

HORSESHOE BEND\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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A popular road in the Boise Foothills used by hunters and other recreationists has new gates and \u201cno trespassing\u201d signs as the billionaire Wilks brothers of Texas continue to exert their private-property rights in Idaho.<\/p>\n

Forest Service road 374 \u2014 also known as Boise Ridge Road \u2014 crosses Wilks-owned property between Bogus Basin and Harris Creek Summit. The summit is north of the ski area and 13 miles east of Horseshoe Bend. Two gates recently were installed on the road, raising questions about whether the road will be closed to the public.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the gate on the northern end of the property was open but \u201cno trespassing\u201d signs were in place. The sign on the gate also said \u201cprivate road\u201d and large trenches were dug to each side of the gate, apparently to prevent vehicles from driving around it.<\/p>\n

The signs include the initials \u201cDFD,\u201d for the Wilkses\u2019 DF Development. Attempts to obtain a comment from DF Development on its plans were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe physical barrier is irrelevant,\u201d said Brant Petersen, the Boise National Forest\u2019s Idaho City district ranger. \u201cIf it\u2019s posted (no trespassing), it\u2019s posted.\u201d<\/p>\n

General deer hunting along the Boise Ridge Road begins Oct. 10. Elk hunting begins in November.<\/p>\n

The gated stretch of road has been privately owned but publicly accessible for decades. It provides access to neighboring public lands and a network of secondary roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most heavy-hit areas in the state (by hunters),\u201d said Brian Brooks, the executive director of the\u00a0Idaho Wildlife Federation<\/a>. \u201cThis is going to cause some trouble but it\u2019s also going to start an interesting debate. … That road has been public for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"trench.jpg\"<\/picture>\n
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It\u2019s not just gates that will prevent vehicles from using the Boise Ridge Road on Wilks property. Trenches restrict vehicles from going around the gates.<\/div>\n
Chadd Cripe\u00a0<\/span>ccripe@idahostatesman.com<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Boise Ridge Road gates have prompted more than 20 phone calls and emails to the Boise National Forest, Petersen said. That volume of public contacts usually only happens with major wildfires, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY CHADD CRIPE ccripe@idahostatesman.com\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0September 28, 2018 HORSESHOE BEND\u00a0 A popular road in the Boise Foothills used by hunters and other recreationists has new gates and \u201cno trespassing\u201d signs as the billionaire Wilks brothers of Texas continue to exert their private-property rights in Idaho. Forest Service road 374 \u2014 also known as Boise Ridge Road \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-public-lands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4735,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4734\/revisions\/4735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}