Copy of Deeds Reveal Billionaire Brothers Illegally Gated Public Road

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Deeds Reveal Billionaire Brothers Illegally Gated Public Road

Contact: Brian Brooks, Idaho Wildlife Federation, (208) 870-7967

BOISE – The Idaho Wildlife Federation has found deeds from past landowners granting easements for sections of Forest Road 374, the Boise Ridge Road, for public use in perpetuity. The easements apply to the sections of road the Wilks’ brothers company, DF Development, has recently installed gates on, making the installations a violation of Idaho law.

Earlier this fall the Texas billionaire Wilks brothers made waves by installing gates on the very popular Boise Ridge Road located just north of Boise, which is frequently used by Idahoans for hunting and recreation access on the Boise National Forest. But Brian Brooks, executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation says, “this is about more than just gates. This is about wealthy individuals flaunting Idaho’s laws and illegally claiming public resources as their own without repercussions. And it spurs the question- how many more public roads have they illegally claimed as their own?”

IWF’s investigation into the construction of the Boise Ridge Road revealed the road was built with public dollars, and has been maintained using taxpayer dollars. The road was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s using public funds for the purpose of public use and fire management. Through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by The Wilderness Society and shared with the Idaho Wildlife Federation, it was found that taxpayers have been footing the bill for maintaining the road for nearly 90 years, fulfilling prescriptive road easement requirements.

“DF Development has never had the right to close or install gates on the Boise Ridge Road, because it belongs to the public. These out-of-state folks have a lot of nerve coming into Idaho and gating a road that was built and paid for by the public,” says Brooks.

Current Idaho law prohibits marking public lands and roads as private. However, as a criminal violation only, a government entity must initiate the lawsuit for its enforcement. “The law lacks a civil remedy common in property disputes, which would give Idaho citizens the power to resolve the issue peer to peer in court,” according to Brooks.

“Counties are strapped for resources, especially rural counties where these violations are happening. Choosing to derail county budgets to prosecute billionaires over access issues, while burdened with more heinous crimes, is not financially practical. It’s time we give citizens legal recourse to enforce public access. By adding a civil remedy to the existing law we can save taxpayer dollars and mobilize enforcement procedures faster.”

Adding a civil suit clause will require action by the state legislature and could be passed as an amendment to the recently updated trespass law, the same law the Wilks brothers lobbied for. During the 2018 legislative session, IWF attempted to include a civil remedy provision to the legislation, but the idea was rebuffed and Idaho’s citizens were kept from enforcing their right to access public property. IWF is vetting potential legislation to lawmakers and interest groups for the 2019 session.

“It’s a small change. A civil remedy exists to protect private property rights. Now it’s time to protect public property rights.”

(Easements found in: Deed I-22818 Patent No. 11-89-0009, Deed I-14744 Patent No. 11-82-0026)

FOIA information on road maintenance is available upon request.