The following photos were taken 10/03/09 after an elk hunter had informed us of (what we believe to be) a disturbing situation. A 60-foot swath has been cut through the National Forest to accommodate the construction of a simple "laydown" fence. This fence is located on the Sinks Road just north of Slide Out Canyon.

We are currently inquiring as to the history and legality of this incursion. It is well known that this area hosts a road density well over 2 miles per square mile which is a much greater level than is tolerable to wildlife health.

A map is posted at the bottom of this page. We have more photos and waypoint locations. High-resolution photos are available. For more information contact us at: brwc@xmission.com

Permittee fence at the cattle guard on the Sinks Road looking west. We assume this is the way a permittee fence should present itself in a National Forest.

Now follow the photos from this point to the east and see if it compares.

We walked approimately one-mile and the swath averaged between 40 and 65 feet in width.

This is the end of our documentation and we measured the impact width to be 65' at this point.

What do you think?

E-mail us at: brwc@xmission.com

The rancher (with a few honorable exceptions) is a man who strings barbed wire all over the range; drills wells and bulldozes stock ponds; drives off elk and antelope and bighorn sheep; poisons coyotes and prairie dogs; shoots eagles, bears, and cougars on sight; supplants the native grasses with tumbleweed, snakeweed, povertyweed, cowshit, anthills, mud, dust, and flies. And then leans back and grins at the TV cameras and talks about how much he loves the American West.
-Ed Abbey