Wrongful death suit not a factor

Dear Editor,

I attended the meeting hosted by the National Forest Service on 4/21/15 in Saratoga. I was given the chance to speak and gave my comments on several topics but unfortunately was given the “times-up” by the monitor so I appreciate the Saratoga Sun’s involvement to continue the dialog of the forest service planning of closing roads that are dear to many people, many of which could not attend this meeting. My son and I drove over from Laramie where we live. I grew up in Rawlins and Saratoga and still do most of my hunting, fishing, camping and hiking on the west side of the Snowy Range. Always have, and God willing, always will. I may repeat some of what I touched on at the meeting but would like to make my viewpoint clear to any that could not be there.

I made several comments and only asked one question. Each person was allowed three minutes and when completed Mrs. Fullman would answer their questions as best she could. Mrs. Fullman brought up the subject of safety and liability as being one of the big concerns and reasons for road closures. She said it was to eliminate wrongful death lawsuits brought upon the National Forest Service due to unsafe road conditions. My only question to her was “how many wrongful death lawsuits due to unsafe road conditions have been won against the National Forest Service in Wyoming and/or her district?” The reason I asked was, I had never heard of one. When I was done she addressed some of my comments but never answered the question and moved on to the next person. I had to interrupt and ask her the question again and I apologize for stepping on the person that was trying to ask their question. Mrs. Fullmans’ answer was “I don’t know the answer to that question but I will find out.” It seems to me that if one of the main concerns of the NFS was safety and liability they would have come equipped with statistics on such lawsuits and/or at least known the answer to my question. She’s the one that brought it up. I didn’t see any mention of it in the literature passed out to the public. Maybe I somehow missed it.

The next day I started my own research on such wrongful death lawsuits. It turns out the government has immunity from lawsuits and it’s almost impossible to win a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFS for an unsafe road. Even if the road had been completely washed out, it would be considered an act of God. After speaking with a number of judicial officials in the state and searching the internet I could not find a single case of a wrongful death lawsuit won against the NFS in the state of WY. There’s a very good chance it’s never been done in the United States. I feel comments made by Mrs. Fullman regarding lawsuits and liability for unsafe roads was insincere and if done on purpose is nothing more than a scare tactic to support her position to close these roads.

Included in my comment period I read a paragraph from the forest service literature that was provided on what is involved on decommissioning a road. It was quite lengthy and detailed. The cost would be very expensive and when the NFS uses the purpose of closing the road as “because they can’t afford to maintain them” doesn’t make sense. They have never maintained most of them. I’m 61 years old and have traveled these roads since I was a child. My father logged in many of the areas and the last time any of these roads saw any maintenance was when they were being logged. Some of them haven’t been touched by the NFS in 70 years. I have seen little to no change in these roads due to erosion in my lifetime. Any erosion would have taken place soon after they were built. The cost to decommission a road is expensive and if the NFS is so concerned about their shrinking budget, they should leave these road as is.

Lastly I’d like to address the subject of adding more ORV trails. I have nothing against ORV’s. I don’t own one and never have. The reason I don’t own one is I can’t afford one. I feel there are already enough trails for them and during wet road conditions I think ORV’s cause as much road damage as small 4x4 vehicles. Why does the NFS feel they have to cater to and make more and more roads exclusive to a group of individuals that have more money than others? Some people are handicapped and cannot physically ride an ORV. For me, it boils down the U.S. government excluding and penalizing the hard working, tax paying man or woman because they have less money than someone else and that has never sat well with me.

Let’s face it, none of us live in Wyoming because the weather. Many of us live here for the hunting, fishing, camping, mountain climbing, and hiking that takes place in our national forest. Each and every one of these roads leads to a special place in our hearts. Money the NFS has in its budget would be better spent dealing with the beetle kill problem that is only going to get worse.

Roy Torres

Laramie, WY.