Wyoming
As Wyoming Camping Season Kicks Off, Popular Snowy Range Road Remains Closed
From Gary Willams’ perspective, everything old is new again when it comes to Boswell Road, a popular route for campers to take into the southern Snowy Range Mountains that runs right through his property.
He’s placed a gate across the road at his property line about a half-mile off Highway 230.
With peak camping season set to kick off over Memorial Day weekend, Willams told Cowboy State Daily that he intends to keep a gate closed, but not locked.
The road remains officially closed to the public. And Williams said that frustrates him, because he’s OK with folks passing through his property to get to some fantastic camping spots in the meadows beyond. All he asks is that people drive slowly past his house and close the gate behind them.
He also isn’t impressed with the results of a meeting this week between the Albany County Commission and U.S. Forest Service officials about the status of the road. While both have at some point claimed ownership of the road, neither do now.
“Nothing came out of it,” he said. “They’re back to pointing their fingers at each other. We’re back to square one.”
County and Forest Service officials said a resolution is probably still at least months away.
Who Does It Even Belong To?
Jurisdiction over the road remains murky.
The Forest Service has always operated under the assumption that Boswell Road is an Albany County thoroughfare, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Supervisor Russell Bacon told the county commissioners.
The roughly 11-mile dirt road route running between Highway 230 and Highway 10 in southern Albany County has never been marked as a Forest Service road on the agency’s maps, he said.
However, from a legal standpoint, it can’t be a country road either, and the county is frustrated over efforts to route it around Willams’ property on the west end hitting snags, Commission Chairman Pete Gosar said.
County engineers had plans to re-route the road, which is what Willams wants, only to have the Forest Service say that couldn’t happen unless it’s formally declared a county road, he said.
And it might be impossible for the county to ever claim full jurisdiction over the road because a section of it dips into Colorado.
About 25% of the route runs through private property, including Williams’ land at the west end, and the Boswell Ranch, owned by former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead at the east end.
Mead hasn’t gated his section of the road, but has placed “private road, no trespassing” signs at his property line.
Of the remaining 75% of the route, about half runs through the national forest and the rest crosses parcels controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and state of Wyoming.
For years, the Forest Service maintained Boswell Road in exchange for the county maintaining Harris Park Road.
However, the road hasn’t been maintained by either entity for at least a year. Some property owners recently told Cowboy State Daily that it’s become extremely rough in some places, even though it remains the best route in and out of the area.
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Former Wyoming governor Matt Mead recently opted to close a section of the Boswell Road that runs through his property, just off Highway 10 in southern Albany County. (Mark Heinz, Cowboy State Daily) -
Former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead owns the historic Boswell Ranch just off Highway 10 in southern Albany County. (Mark Heinz, Cowboy State Daily) -
The Carpenter Family has been ranching in Albany for six generations, but might not be able to access their summer range off Boswell Road this year, because the road has been closed. (Courtesy Leisl Carpenter)
Not A Priority For Forest Service
One possible way out of the quandary would be for the county to secure easements along the sections of road that pass through private property. That could make it essentially a county road.
The section going through Colorado would be under Forest Service jurisdiction.
If some property owners refuse to grant easements, the county could take the case to court.
But regardless of whether such easements were settled with a handshake or via a court order, the process would likely take months.
Boswell Road could also be officially converted to a Forest Service road. That would probably take even longer, because a full environmental assessment would be in order, Bacon told the commissioners.
He also said that with 4,500 miles of Forest Service road already under his office’s jurisdiction, “it’s not going to float very high on our priority list” to add Boswell Road, he said.
A 40-Year Wait
Willams has owned his property for 39 years, and said he’s always been frustrated by the back-and-forth between the Forest Service and Albany County when it comes to the road.
It runs right next to his house, and he said he put up the gate because he was getting weary of traffic speeding by.
“I’ve had side-by-sides go through my yard doing 30-40 mph, I’m not kidding,” he said.
Mead previously told Cowboy State Daily that he closed his section of the road partly because he was concerned over liability should a speeding driver have a crash there.
“I’m worried about the same thing,” Willams said, which is why he wants people to slow down.
The Forest Service has put up “road closed” signs at the intersection of Boswell Road and Highway 230.
Willams said he’s not happy about that.
“I’ve never stopped anybody from coming through. My gate was put there just to get people to slow down going through my property,” he said. “I hope people realize, it was the Forest Service that closed the road, not me,” he said.
As for where things go from here, Willams said he’s hopeful, but skeptical.
“Public opinion is what’s going to change this whole deal,” he said. “Maybe on the 40th anniversary of me owning the property we’ll get something done.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.
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The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
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LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.
The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”
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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.
Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.
Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.
Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.
The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.
Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.
A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.
Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.
Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.
The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.
Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.
2A Boys:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm
(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!
Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm
Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place
Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
2A Girls:
First Round:
Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)
(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am
(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am
(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm
(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm
Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)
Consolation Round:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!
Semi-Finals:
Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm
Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm
Saturday, March 7th:
Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship
Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place
Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship
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