Several concerned residents attended the Mineral County Commissioners meeting on Friday, May 13, regarding the closure of the CyrIron Mountain Road located east of Superior.

A petition was presented to the Commissioners which was signed by 150 people, requesting that action be taken on the matter.

Diane Magone, who is spearheading this effort, said that the road has been used for at least fifty years for logging, hunting, recreation, and was used by the Diamond International Mill until it closed in the 1980s.

The property, called Cougar Gulch, is about a five mile stretch of road which connects Trout Creek Road to Quartz Loop Road. It was purchased three years ago by Paul Wheaton and the road runs across his private property. The current owners have erected barriers to prevent public use of the road.

The Petitioner’s argument presented to the commissioners is that the road has been in existence since the early 1900s. Dennis Hildebrand said that he helped to catalogue information with the Mineral County Historical Society, and found a map dating back to 1906 that showed the road’s existence.

Commissioner Laurie Johnston spoke as a private citizen, not as her role of commissioner, and said that her grandfather worked at the mill and drove on the road every day.

“Both of my folks drove on that road and use it for cattle for as long as I can remember,” she said.

Magone said it is identified as a Forest Service road by signage on both ends, and contends it falls under the Montana statute as a public highway. According to Magone, the statute states “once established, a road that has been used by the public must continue to operate as such until abandoned by order of the county commissioners of the county in which it is situated.”

Mineral County Attorney Marcia Boris was also at the meeting taking notes. She listened as several citizens stated their history with the road.

Those residents included Roger Jostad, who has lived in the county for 70 years and worked for the county. He said that he used the road for hunting, and drove county trucks across it.

“It’s a part of Mineral County, and a part of what was originally here and should be left open,” he said.

Teresa Simkins, also signed the petition and raised safety concerns about the road closure.

“What if there’s another train derailment, a flood, or a wildfire? This is an emergency access road to get out of there,” she explained.

Magone said that closing the road sets a precedent for the county.

“This land is our land. It belongs to the people. Not the government, not the county—if it was used by the public for a number of years, it belongs to the public. Even without an easement, because there are a lot of roads like this that can be closed because they don’t have easements.”

There was speculation that because the property has had multiple owners, including lumber and mining companies, that an easement for the road was never properly filed. Magone said that though the property was bought by private owners, they should do the neighborly thing and leave it open. She said that ideally, what they need is a compromise with the current owners.

However, several people commented that the Wheaton’s had been approached to keep the road open and they refuse to negotiate a compromise. Mason Henderson, who lives close to the property, said that Wheaton told him that he (Wheaton) was concerned about the public having access to his property. Wheaton also told Henderson that he has also felt harassed and threatened over the use of his property. However, Henderson wanted to make it clear that he was not at the meeting to represent Wheaton, or speak for him.

The alternaive route to get from Trout Creek Road to Quartz Loop is to take I90 to Lozeau. Magone said that she and her father live on Trout Creek Road and her brother lives on Quartz Loop.

“I used to take my ATV and visit my brother, using that road as a shortcut,” said Magone, “now I have to go down the highway to see him. This is an old wagon road, and I believe it used to go all the way to Missoula. It should remain open to the public.”

Regarding this matter, Wheaton could not be reached for comment by press time.

Boris said that she would be looking at the evidence and determine what the strongest case might be.

Magone commented that she would like this issue to be resolved soon, since it’s been ongoing for the past three years.