By Sam Neff
On the Fourth of July, hundreds of protesters gathered in Jarbidge, a speck of a town in northern Nevada, to open a road the U.S. Forest Service closed over a year ago.
Among the protesters were a few BYU students who came out to add muscle to the cause.
Dallas Gerber, a junior from Spring Creek, Nev., majoring in history, was one of nearly 200 protesters to lay hold and pull on one of three ropes tied to a boulder, dubbed “Freedom Rock,” blocking access to the road.
“The road itself is miniscule,” Gerber said. “It’s symbolic of the people’s sovereignty. The people are checking and balancing (the government’s) powers.”
Gerber’s father, Grant, was one of three Elko County residents who tried to organize a similar protest in Jarbidge last fall. That protest was halted when a temporary restraining order was issued against the three organizers and any others that would have participated.
The restraining order was issued to protect bull trout in the Jarbidge River, a fish classified as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
A federal judge refused to grant the Forest Service a similar restraining order this year, saying the Forest Service could not prove that protesters would endanger the fish or dirty the river.
Although no restraining order was issued, protesters were warned to not work near the river to avoid violating the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. Most of the work was done away from the river.
Rather than grabbing picket signs, protesters took up shovels to physically open the road.
“You’re spending your time in a productive way,” Dallas Gerber said. “Instead of blowing your horn you’re bearing your muscle.”
Gerber’s cousin, Zeb Weeks, a graduate student from Elko, Nev., majoring in comparative literature, said, “It was the funnest Fourth of July I’ve ever had.”
“I felt like I did something for once,” Weeks said.
Weeks said he took part in the protest because his family has always been interested in environmental issues, and he disagrees with federal policies concerning public lands.
“When you finally get fed up, this road is as good as any,” Weeks said.
Richard Lounsbury, a professor of classics and comparative literature who attended the rally with Weeks, one of his students, said the demonstration seemed like a Fourth of July party.
“Everyone seemed to be in good spirits,” Lounsbury said.
Only The Old Broads for Wilderness, an environmentalist organization, showed up to counterprotest, and they did so quietly, mingling among protesters.
The Jarbidge South Canyon road was washed out in 1995. The Forest Service originally promised to reopen the road, but backed out when they feared road work would endanger the Bull Trout, which was classified as a threatened species in 1998.
In 1999, Elko County attempted to reopen the road because of a need for fire safety. Work was halted because the county allegedly failed to acquire the proper permits and entered the river with their equipment.
The Forest Service then spent over $100,000 to bury 300 yards of the road and bring in boulders to block vehicle access.
The so-called Jarbidge Shovel Brigade was initiated when residents of Montana and Idaho began a drive to send 10,000 shovels to reopen the Jarbidge South Canyon Road.
