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Commissioners affirm removal of Trestle/Trussell Creek segment from USFS cooperative plowing agreement over safety and equity concerns
Summary
Bonner County affirmed a January decision to remove a Forest Service segment of Trussell Creek Road from a cooperative roads agreement after safety risks from snowmobilers sharing plowed roadways and concerns about providing free plowing to a subset of users.
Bonner County commissioners on Tuesday affirmed a January 7, 2025, decision to remove the portion of Trussell (Trestle) Creek Road from milepost 3.7 to 4.18 — ending at Star Ridge Road — from a U.S. Forest Service cooperative roads agreement.
Jason Top, Road and Bridge director, told the board the segment had been plowed by the county for decades as a “handshake” arrangement and that the county lacks an off‑road turnaround where snowmobilers now share the plowed portion with plows. “We could not come up with a safe resolution to that issue,” Top said, describing safety risks from snowmobiles sharing the traveled way with plows. He said the Forest Service does not have funding to build a separated turnout and had offered a line‑notice permit instead.
Top and the commissioners also cited equity concerns about providing a “free plowing service” to a specific group of users while other residents do not receive the same county maintenance. The board said it asked Road and Bridge to pursue options with the Forest Service and landowners and later placed the item on a regularly noticed Tuesday meeting to finalize the decision.
Resident Kevin Moore spoke during public comment urging broader consideration of consistency, safety and agreements the county holds with agencies. The board limited some unrelated public-comment remarks and finished deliberation before taking a roll-call vote to affirm the January action.
Action details: the motion to affirm the 2025 Cooperative Forest Road decision (removing the Trussell Creek Road segment) passed on roll call. Commissioners recorded their votes in favor and thanked the director for the presentation.
Top described the removal as part of a broader push to formalize procedures for private and cooperative road maintenance, citing potential liability and litigation risk if the county continued shared maintenance without clear separation and a safe turnaround.
The board did not direct immediate county takeover or replacement construction; staff said the Forest Service indicated it lacks funds to construct a separation area and would issue a permit to maintain its portion if needed.
