Sawtooth landowner sued to stop a trail built on his property. Here’s what a judge ruled

Nicole Blanchard
·3 min read
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Nearly three years after a Sawtooths landowner sued to stop construction of a U.S. Forest Service trail across an easement on his property, a judge has ruled that the trail can move forward.

In April 2019, Clearwater Analytics co-founder Dave Boren filed a lawsuit against the Sawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth National Recreation Area and several other government agencies and employees over a trail connecting the town of Stanley with nearby Redfish Lake. Boren, whose Sawtooth Mountain Ranch property hosts part of the trail, said the Forest Service did not have the right to construct the trail and argued that the pathway would harm the environment and his enjoyment of his property.

Last week, Idaho U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale ruled against Boren on all nine of the lawsuit’s claims.

“(Boren’s) overarching theme is that the Forest Service ignored or overlooked environmental conditions when it applied the environmental statutes at issue here,” Dale wrote in a conclusion addressing seven of the claims. “But when the court reviewed the record, the court was confronted with a multitude of environmental analyses, which considered soils, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species, wetlands, and the values which make the Sawtooth National Recreation Area awe inspiring to all who visit.”

Boren also claimed the Forest Service’s easement didn’t give it the right to do construction. Dale said the right for public use always existed for the easement.

A small herd of antelope can be seen running through a meadow that is part of a trail that the U.S. Forest Service is working on between Stanley and Redfish Lake. Property owner Dave Boren contested the project in court, but a judge recently ruled against him.
A small herd of antelope can be seen running through a meadow that is part of a trail that the U.S. Forest Service is working on between Stanley and Redfish Lake. Property owner Dave Boren contested the project in court, but a judge recently ruled against him.

The trail, a 4.5-mile gravel path that will allow hikers, bikers and horseback riders to travel between Stanley and Redfish Lake, has been in the works since the early 2000s. In 2005, the Forest Service secured an easement agreement with the former owners of the Sawtooth Mountain Ranch property to construct about 1.5 miles of the trail there. When Boren bought the property in 2016, he was notified of the Forest Service’s plans, according to the lawsuit.

Construction on the Stanley-Redfish Trail began in June 2019, shortly after the lawsuit was filed. In 2020, the Forest Service requested a restraining order against Boren and his brother, Michael Boren, after the pair reportedly used Michael Boren’s helicopter to hover over a construction crew working on the trail. Dale denied the restraining order request, saying there did not appear to be an ongoing threat to the trail crew. The Forest Service also said that Dave Boren’s legal team sent a letter to the construction company, claiming the company “may suffer significant financial loss” if it continued working on the trail.

Dave Boren became a vocal critic of the six-foot wide trail, launching a campaign to reroute it. The former website for his effort, buildabettertrail.com, is now defunct.

Stanley Mayor Steve Botti told the Idaho Statesman he’s “very pleased” with the judge’s ruling.

“We think that (ruling) will hopefully clear the way for the completion of that trail, which the city of Stanley has always supported,” Botti said.

Botti said the goal is to complete the trail by summer, though construction has paused due to a conflict between the construction contractor and a subcontractor, he said. The majority of the trail is already complete.

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Boren didn’t immediately respond to the Statesman’s requests for comment Tuesday.