State, County Appeal Road Closure

The state Attorney General, on behalf of the Department of Fish and Game, has filed an appeal with the Idaho Supreme Court to open the Antelope Creek in Bonneville County. The county has filed a similar appeal to open the road, which it maintains. The road is an important access route to lands of the Caribou National Forest and the Tex Creek Wildlife Management Area. The road was historically used by the public, but in 1990 a new landowner closed a six-mile stretch through private property. Bonneville County conducted an investigation and found it to be a public road, but an appeal to district court overturned that decision. The issue has been in litigation since then, going all the way to the state Supreme Court and back to District Court, where a July 4 decision ruled it private. The current appeals are intended to open the road to provide access for hunters and other recreationists.