Subject: County Ordinance Owyhee County roads closed to ATVs Amended Ordinance 10-03
Source: The Owyhee Avalanche, 12/23/2010
Owyhee County Board of Commissioners Sections of 26 county roads have been closed to ATV traffic, but the Board of County Commissioners wrote some exemptions into the revised ordinance passed last week. The full ordinance and three maps showing the overall county, Grand View and the Bruneau area are posted on the county Web site, www.owyheecounty.net , under the “ATV ordinance” tab in the “Commissioners” section.
The maps also are available on The Owyhee Avalanche’s Web site, www.owyheeavalanche.com under “County ATV restrictions” in the Government section of links, or by clicking here and the county soon will print informational pamphlets on the closures. More than 133 miles of county roads — predominantly paved — will be closed to ATV use, including:
- 15.8 miles of Mud Flat Road, from Oreana Cut Off Road to River Road
- 11.2 miles of Oreana Loop Road from Bachman Grade Road to Bates Creek Road
- 12 miles of Upper Reynolds Creek Road from its intersection with Idaho highway 78
- The longest stretch of prohibited road is 26.5 miles of gravel track on Clover Three Creek Road from Idaho 51 outside Bruneau to just west of the road’s intersection with Crows Nest Road.
The Dec. 13 passage of Ordinance 10-03 came nearly two years after commissioners approved the original law closing certain roads to ATV, UTV and motorbike use. Signs will be posted later to delineate which portions of roads are closed. The 2008 law, Ordinance 08-03, was crafted in response to the Jan. 1, 2009, enactment of a state law essentially opening all roads to ATV traffic. The county’s original ordinance was never enforced because of incorrect legal descriptions for some sections of closed road. Ordinance 10-03 makes driving on roads closed to all-terrain vehicle, utility vehicle and motorbike traffic punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000 and a maximum jail term of six months. The ordinance also establishes a maximum speed limit on county roads for those vehicles at 25 mph. While the ordinance closes portions of some roads around Murphy and Bruneau, ATVs will be allowed on the streets within those townsites. ATVs will be allowed on the closed roads for agricultural use, too.
Law enforcement officers pursuing “legitimate law enforcement action” also are exempt from the ordinance. Other closures, beginning in a sequence moving southeast along the Idaho 78 corridor, include:
- 2.6 miles of Wilson Creek Road directly off Idaho 78 • Nine-tenths of a mile each of China Ditch Road and Bailey Road near Idaho 78
- Six miles of Silver City Road off Idaho 78 • Seven-tenths of a mile of Bachman Grade Road from Bates Creek Road to Oreana Loop Road
- 1.5 miles of Lemley Road off River Road
- Separate 8.7- and 6.6-mile stretches of River Road between Mormon Boulevard and Parkinson Road • Four-tenths of a mile on Beet Dump Road off River Road
- Three-tenths of a mile on Alma Road off River Road • Eight-tenths of a mile on Millet Lane north of River Road
- Two-tenths of a mile on Vista Road south of River Road
- One-tenth of a mile on Quail Lane south of River Road
- Two miles of A&A Road between Mud Flat and Dairy roads
- 2.8 miles of Shoofly Cut Off Road south of the Bruneau townsite
- Three-tenths of a mile of Strike Dam Cut Off Road north of Idaho 78
- Eight miles of Mormon Boulevard running south of Idaho 78
- 3.7 miles of Davis Road between Mormon Boulevard and Idaho 51
- 5.2 miles of Hot Creek Road running southeast from Bruneau
- 7.5 miles of Hot Springs Road, which runs southeast from Bruneau just north of Hot Creek Road
- 2.5 miles of Colyer Road north of Bruneau
- 3.9 miles of Crane Falls Road off Idaho 51 Taken from the Owyhee County Board of Commissioners Minutes
Submitted by: Bill Jones Media Coodinator, Boise ATV Trail Riders
Are these roads closed to farm equipment as well?
We are paying for license plates, and counties are restricting the movement of properly licensed vehicles, on roads maintained with funds from my registration fees?
When does the state step in and either pull funding, or make these restriction illegal?
Is these a repeat of the Fish and Game fiasco?
The Owyhee County Commissioners are listening to thier constituents about paved roads — NO OHV on paved roads unless crossing in a signed area. Farmers and law enforcement are exempt. I will keep you informed if any changes.
No problems with paved roads.
I am talking about dirt roads. There are about 180,000 ORV (combining ATV, UTV , and dirt bikes licensed in the state of Idaho). They buy license plates and through those fees a portion of the local highway districts are funded. Through those highway districts funds the dirt roads are maintained. There are about 10,000 residents of Owyhee county telling me I cannot ride a lawfully licensed vehicle, on a dirt road, that my portion of the of the license fees paid to maintain?
You can see the problem.
Comment from Bill Jones: The one dirt road is south of Bruneau that runs through the “Sailor Creek Bombing Range” called “Three Creek-Clover Crossing” Road. This section of road is used by the U S Air Force as a training site. It’s just like the Orchard Training Area south of Gowan Field. We can’t ride ther either.
All the dirt and gravel roads are open for OHV use.
A couple of the so called “County” roads cross private property, and are closed by the owner. Example: The Democrat Road from Reynolds Creek to Silver City, closed by Jerry Hoagland, the owner and a county Commissioner. (He used to let us cross his property until someone in a 4×4 pickup destroyed his calving pasture by spinning loops in the wet riparian zones at the crossing.) I don’t blame him for this closure.
According to the ordinance, virtualy all of the gravel and dirt county-maintained roads are OPEN to properly licenced OHVs. The notable exception is the 26.5 miles of the Clover/Three Cr. Rd. from Hwy 51 to just west of the road’s intercection with Crow’s Nest Rd. I think this is because of the high volume of cattle truck traffic on that road. You can ride the paved portion of the Silver City Rd. south from Diamond Basin. Keep in mind, there is a 25mph speed limit for OHVs on all county roads.