EVANSTON — Proponents of a plan to create a southwest Wyoming off-road vehicle trail system utilizing some existing roads in rural Uinta County faced some pushback from landowners when a resolution naming some of the county roads that would be available for riding came before the Uinta County Commissioners on Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The trail system idea has been discussed at numerous public meetings over the past year after the SWOT (Southwest Wyoming Off-road Trails) group formed last fall.

Gary Welling, part of the Uinta County Economic Development Commission, presented a resolution to commissioners modeled off a similar resolution that was adopted in neighboring Lincoln County, where a system of trails is already in use. Welling said the resolution had been discussed with local law enforcement at the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office, as well as with Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas, who drafted the resolution. He said the idea was just to pass a resolution demonstrating initial support for the proposal, while also acknowledging there were still many details to be worked out.

Some of those details became evident when multiple area landowners spoke out about their concerns surrounding the proposal. Rancher Kelly Guild said he has several concerns, including the increased traffic on rural county roads that he believes would result in increased accidents and injuries. Guild said many of the roads on a list of county roads provided by Welling that could be included in the trail system are in areas with poor cell service, numerous curves in the road, blind spots and more, and are far removed from emergency services that could respond in case of an accident.

Guild also expressed concerns about littering and garbage, damage to county roads, increased dust and damage to private property when law enforcement is unable to fully patrol the area. Guild said as a landowner and rancher, he is also concerned about the potential for riders to abuse livestock, resulting in individual financial losses.

Guild further said he doesn’t believe there is any evidence a trail system would bring increased revenues to the area in the form of increased tourism and he believes costs related to maintaining and repairing county roads that could be damaged by off-road vehicles would far exceed any possible revenues generated.

Other landowners agreed. Gary Barker shared many of the concerns expressed by Guild, and also mentioned how many children play near the county roads, saying kids wouldn’t be expecting ATVs and riders wouldn’t be expecting children, which could result in tragic accidents. Barker said there are few area road signs displaying the 35 mph speed limit, which he said is too fast for many of those roads anyway.

Also citing potential damage to both county roads and personal property, Barker said people on off-road vehicles are not taking leisurely tours but are there to “put the pedal to the metal and have fun.” He, too, said he didn’t see the proposal as economic development and said the idea to use county roads and cross private land to link trails on public lands was “slapping landowners right in the face.”

Richard Hamilton also spoke about the proposal and said he also believes the costs are greater than any potential benefits. Hamilton said dust suppression is a problem on county roads and that would be worsened by ATV traffic. He said dust from roads is already problematic because cattle don’t want to eat dust-covered vegetation. Hamilton said campgrounds in the Uintas and surrounding national forest areas are already full and he doesn’t think linking county roads and trails in the forests would bring in additional visitors or revenue.

Proponents of the plan, including Mark Tesoro (who is publisher of the Uinta County Herald) and Todd Jones, then spoke about their vision and what they hope to achieve. Tesoro said the group has absolutely always planned to work with local landowners to resolve any issues. Tesoro said there are numerous areas around the country that have similar trail systems that have brought additional visitors and tourism dollars, which he said Uinta County desperately needs as just one part of economic development and diversification as traditional industries continue to struggle.

Tesoro also pointed out that people can already ride ATVs on all county roads as long as the machines are licensed. A designated trail system would allow for the county to register with the state and therefore receive some funding back from the purchase of vehicle stickers that riders would be able to purchase as an alternative to full licensure, which would make the trails more appealing to tourists.

Guild pointed out the system in Garfield County is on land that is more than 90% public, while land in Uinta County is more than 50% private, making the situation very different. Tesoro reiterated that the group had “no intention whatsoever” of not working with landowners to find a way forward.

Commissioner Craig Welling motioned to table the issue, noting that, “When the landowners show up to a meeting, you know there’s an issue.” Commissioner Mark Anderson, who noted that he, too, recreates on ATVs, said it may be best to start small and to look into issues with signage, designated roadways, revenues and more before voting on the resolution, so the matter was tabled until a future meeting.