Public Urged to Stay on Roads as Seasonal Closures Lift

WOOD RIVER VALLEY – Seasonal motorized road closures have been lifted in some areas of the Wood River Valley.

As people head outdoors, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) urges people to stay on roads so they don't damage soil and vegetation.

“It’s the time of year to enjoy taking in all that spring offers on public lands in the Wood River Valley,” said BLM Shoshone Field Manager Codie Martin. “With that, we want to remind users that motorized vehicles need to stay on roads and trails.”

The agency, which manages the closures, said on Friday the areas that have reopened include Martin/Big Dry Canyon, Croy Creek to south of Townsend Gulch, Big and Little Beaver Drainages, the south slopes above East Fork, the Elk Mountain area and portions of Picabo Hills.

The BLM partnered with other agencies and private landowners this past fall and winter on a number of rehabilitation and stabilization projects in the area, including seeding more than 13,000 acres with sagebrush, grass and forbs.

Shoshone Fire Ecologist Danelle Nance explained that the rehabilitation efforts were done "in a way that crossed land ownership boundaries."

“By using the similar native seed mixes on public, private and state land parcels, we can seamlessly stabilize soils and reduce the invasion of noxious weeds on a landscape level," she said.