Feds sue Maclay for damaging public land
by ROD DANIEL - Ravalli Republic
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A north-valley rancher who is currently proposing one of the largest ski resorts in North America on national forest land north of Florence is being sued by the United States of America.
Tom Maclay, a fourth-generation Bitterroot rancher who recently gained notoriety by seeking permits from the U.S. Forest Service to build a 3,000-acre destination ski resort on land adjacent to his family's ranch, is being sued for damaging property of the U.S government. Specifically, he's charged with using closed Forest Service roads, building new roads within the national forest and illegally cutting more than 400 trees on the national forest, including some in the protected Carlton Ridge Research Natural Area.
The civil suit, filed Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer, of Billings, seeks damages “equal to the cost of restoring and rehabilitating the property to its pre-existing condition and for other damages caused by the unauthorized activities of the defendant ... .” The suit comes after an extensive investigation that began in March 2005 when a snowshoer stumbled upon men cutting trees along an old Jeep trail on national forest land.
According to the complaint filed yesterday by Mercer in District Court in Missoula, the Stevensville Ranger District received reports in March 2005 regarding trees cut along Forest Service trail 1311 and of a ski grooming machine parked on national forest land. After verifying the trees had been cut, the complaint states, Forest Service personnel contacted Maclay, who admitted using the ski groomer on Forest Service lands.
Further inspection revealed the trees had been cut to allow the ski groomer clearance to travel the road. Maclay, according to the complaint, later admitted to Forest Service personnel that he had cut trees along the road located on the national forest.
Maclay had “no authorization to conduct such activity,” the complaint states.
Further investigation in early June 2005 revealed that several old logging roads on national forest land had been reopened and several newly constructed roads were in use.
By July 28, 2005, investigators had found seven roadways that had been cleared of vegetation and seven additional areas of new road construction.
On July 15, 2005, the complaint reads, “Maclay admitted to clearing the roads while on a telephone conversation with (Stevensville) District Ranger Dan Ritter. Maclay had no authorization to undertake such activity on the National Forest.”
The complaint concludes that “the unauthorized and illegal actions of Tom Maclay have interfered with and damaged the property of the United States, including trees within the Carlton Ridge Research Natural Area, a nationally unique ecosystem which is permanently protected and managed in its natural state.”
On Wednesday, Maclay issued a statement through his media representative, Jessica Flynn, addressing the recent claim filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday.
“There appears to be a misunderstanding about our family's rights to access roads on what are now National Forest lands,” the statement reads, “lands that we have used for recreation and ranching for over 100 years, since before Congress created the U.S. Forest Service.”
This issue contained in the suit, Maclay stated, comes down to a debate over historical land rights that has been occurring across the West for decades. Many situations exist, he said, in which landowners' historical use of roads is subject to unresolved disagreements with the Federal Government.
“We regret that it appears these issues will have to be addressed in the context of litigation,” he stated in the press release.
Maclay did not address how having a snow-grooming machine on national forest land - an issue brought up in Mercer's complaint - related to the issue of historical water rights and access to reservoirs.
Not a stranger to litigation with the Forest Service, Maclay, as president of Carlton Creek Irrigation Co., last year sued the Forest Service for access to its wilderness dam on Little Carlton Lake. The company represents about 10 water users, including the Maclay family, and has rights to about 40 acre-feet of water out of Little Carlton Lake and 450-acre feet out of Carlton Lake.
In an August 2004 complaint, attorneys for CCIC contended that an easement to the dam - built in 1889 - existed for maintenance and repair since 1898, but that the Forest Service has not allowed the company access for the past several years. The Forest Service, in its October 2004 response, said the CCIC abandoned such right-of-way years ago.
The irrigation company's suit against the Forest Service has not yet been resolved, according to Stevensville District Ranger Dan Ritter.
Maclay also filed a lawsuit against the agency in 1994 for damages stemming from sedimentation into McClain Creek, to which Maclay has virtually all of the irrigation water rights.
The lawsuit was settled in 1998 and Maclay was awarded about $440,000 in damages.
The statement written on behalf of Maclay made it clear that past and current lawsuits and disagreements over access rights have no bearing on his planned ski resort proposal.
“While we recognize that there may be disagreements about access rights, Tom Maclay emphasizes that these disagreements do not undercut his respect for the U.S. Forest Service,” Flynn wrote in the press release. “He remains committed to working with the planning team as the new forest plans are drafted and implemented.”
Sharon Sweeney, public affairs officer for Lolo National Forest, agreed that the two issues are not related.
“Everyone in our justice system is innocent until proven guilty,” Sweeney said, regarding the civil suit against Maclay. “And Tom's proposal for a special-use permit is so far in the future, that we can't even begin to address it. At this time, they're not related.”
Reporter Rod Daniel can be reached at 363-3300 or rdaniel@ravallirepublic.com
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