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Commission presses Forest Service to speed NEPA, keep Proctor access open to protect tourism and timber plans
Summary
Public commenters and commissioners urged the Forest Service to reopen Proctor Road and accelerate NEPA for timber projects; Forest Service representatives defended temporary closures as resource protection while acknowledging NEPA staffing constraints and the county's $1 million effort to hire consultants to speed projects.
Residents and commissioners urged the Forest Service to keep Proctor Road and other forest access points open, warning closures would hurt local tourism-dependent businesses and hamper a nascent local sawmill effort. Russell Riggs, speaking for the Hatch town council, told the commission that loss of trail access would sharply reduce business for tour operators: “When the county brings in that ATV tour, his business increases by 40%,” Riggs said, describing the economic dependence of Hatch on trail riders.
Forest Service representatives, including the district ranger, said closures such as Proctor are intended to protect soil and road…
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