Blaine County – A recreational motorcycle dirt track in the area of Stanton Crossing in Blaine County is no longer available for use due to an effort to reclaim the area with native vegetation. Off-road recreationalists are reminded to heed closure notices and allow plant growth.
For many years, the Idaho Transportation Department held a mineral lease with the Idaho Department of Lands to use the site, located about two miles west of the U.S. 20/Idaho 75 junction, to extract sand and gravel for highway projects. The source has not been actively used by ITD for more than a decade, and over time an unauthorized motorcycle dirt track had been created on the lease area.
Reclamation of the site is required by the Idaho Surface Mining Act as well as through terms of the ITD mineral lease, which expired in 2011. Reclamation could take several years until the vegetation is established.
Last October, ITD crews bulldozed disturbed areas of the site and planted native vegetation. The area has been posted with closure notification but unauthorized use has continued. Portions of the area will be fenced to restrict activities later this spring and information about the closure will be posted.
The Stanton Crossing track has been used by organized off-road groups from Blaine County and the nearby counties since mining activities ceased. Two other public tracks in Blaine County managed by the Idaho Mountain Dirt Riders Association and the Bureau of Land Management remain available
for use.
The Public School Endowment owns the land and the mineral rights on the site and the Idaho Department of Lands manages them under a Constitutional mandate to maximize long-term financial returns to public schools.