Several side roads at a popular recreation area north of Evanston have been closed by state and federal officials after landowners complained about their land being “torn up” by unauthorized motorized use.
Some recreationists balked at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) posting "road closed" signs on several roads and two-tracks in the Woodruff Narrows/Bear River Divide area.
It includes a Game and Fish public access area.
However, agency personnel told Cowboy State Daily the roads in question cross private property, and landowners were fed up.
"The landowners are sick of having their land torn up," BLM Wyoming spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman told Cowboy State Daily.
The episode encapsulates the complexities of public recreation areas set on easements across private land.
The 16.3-acre Woodruff Narrows Public Access Area offers fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, boating, and wildlife viewing, according to Game and Fish. Just to the northeast is the roughly 12-acre Bear River PAA, which offers camping, fishing and hunting.
Game and Fish works with landowners to establish PAAs at similar places, such as walk-in hunting and angling areas and hunter management areas.
In exchange for public access, Game and Fish establishes and enforces conditions set by landowners, including dates of use, access points, limits on motorized travel, and the like.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management closed several roads around Woodruff Narrows Reservoir north of Evanston. People were using the roads for unauthorized travel on private land, the agencies said. Phil Pierson, Facebook (Phil Pierson, Facebook) 
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management closed several roads around Woodruff Narrows Reservoir north of Evanston. People were using the roads for unauthorized travel on private land, the agencies said. (Phil Pierson, Facebook) 
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management closed several roads around Woodruff Narrows Reservoir north of Evanston. People were using the roads for unauthorized travel on private land, the agencies said. (Phil Pierson, Facebook) 
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management closed several roads around Woodruff Narrows Reservoir north of Evanston. People were using the roads for unauthorized travel on private land, the agencies said. (Phil Pierson, Facebook)
Where Did These Signs Come From?
Phil Pierson of Wichita, Kansas, stated in a social media post that Woodruff Narrows is one of his favorite places to visit. So, he was taken aback when he went there recently and discovered several roads he likes to use were posted as "closed" by BLM and Game and Fish.
He said that it wasn't right to be denied access to "public lands."
Pierson could not be reached for further comment.
Local outdoorsman Landon McGuire told Cowboy State Daily he hunts mule deer at Woodruff Narrows.
He added that the reservoir also draws anglers, who fish either from boats or along the shoreline.
He noted that the jurisdiction of the land can be confusing because it's in an area of "checkerboard" public and private land parcels, with square parcels of BLM and private land.
In much of the area, hunting is allowed only on foot, he said.
"Those (road closed) signs go up every fall" to remind hunters where they can and cannot drive, he said.
The "actual designated routes" for public travel are clearly marked on hunting GPS apps, such as onX, McGuire said.
He added that he understands why Game and Fish must regulate travel as part of its agreement with private landowners.
It's Game and Fish's duty to manage both the wildlife and human activity in the area, he said.
Complex Management
Landowners' rights and concerns must be respected in public access areas, Game and Fish spokeswoman Anne Hodnett stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
"The Bear River Divide is unique compared to most PAAs in our state due to its scale and complex, 'checkerboard' landownership pattern, which includes a mix of private, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and state lands," she said. "When private landowners opened access and enrolled their lands into our access program, they requested specific protections to prevent motorized damage and unauthorized access on their specific parts of their property."
Game and Fish "worked directly with these landowners" to decide which roads to close to the public, Hodnett added.
She said protecting private property rights helps ensure that landowners continue to allow public access to the recreation area.
"Standard PAA regulations prohibit off-road travel and ATV/ORV use throughout the area to protect habitat and prevent property damage," Hodnett added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
