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Rider group describes September microburst that blocked Teepee trails; county urges meeting with Forest Service
Summary
A member of CHEAPI told Sheridan County commissioners about a Sept. 12, 2024, microburst that felled trees and blocked multiple trails on U.S. Forest Service land near Teepee; commissioners advised coordinating with the Forest Service and other agencies before county involvement.
At the May 6 Sheridan County commission meeting, Joyce Melling of CHEAPI described a microburst that struck the Teepee mountain area on Sept. 12, 2024, she said, leaving multiple trails blocked by large blowdowns and raising safety concerns for horseback riders.
Melling said she and her husband were among the first to find the damage and described hillsides with trunks snapped 10 to 20 feet high and trees tossed as far as 40 feet. She told commissioners that informal counts of trail use showed “over 3,000” horseback rides from CHEAPI last year and that the blowdown affects trails used by hunters, hikers and grazing interests.
Melling asked the board for suggestions on clearing the trails. Commissioners and staff repeatedly advised the first step is to coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service because the affected land is Forest Service property. A county official said he had invited a Forest Service representative to the meeting and recommended sitting down with a map to identify which routes are official Forest Service trails and which are locally named for convenience.
Commissioners noted that the Forest Service may have thinning projects that could help and that fences affecting grazing leases would require Forest Service action; Game and Fish was mentioned as having limited capacity to assist. Commissioner Haswell was identified in the meeting as the commission’s designated Forest Service steering committee representative and was suggested as a point of contact for staying informed.
No formal county action was taken; commissioners and staff said they would help facilitate conversations and revisit the issue after coordination with the Forest Service.
