Documents show Wilks brothers' gates on Forest Service road are illegal
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Dan and Farris Wilks have raised the hackles of hunters and other outdoor recreationists who rely on access to Idaho public lands after their controversial purchases of vast swaths of private land in the state.
Makes me think of the California town where some billionaire bought up a bunch of land and put up gates blocking access to the beach, which is illegal. In the state of California, all beaches are public. It's illegal to block access to them. But this guy did, by gating up the only road to the beach (the road runs through his land) and when told what he did was illegal, he just said "sue me." So the state did. It's been about 4 years and the legal battle is still ongoing. He still has the gate up.
You can break any law in America if you have enough money.
How did he Gate up the (only) access to the beach? If California had all public beaches there would be plenty of access. Read Oregon Beach bill and you will realize what public access is
Sounds like a job for "CUTTING TORCH MAN"!!!!! He's everywhere!
@@paulfenter9543 😂 I was coming to say they make battery powered cutting tools for a good price these days he’ll of a lot cheaper than a gate. But the real problem is the billionaires who think they are above the rest of the world and use their money in ways like this.
@@m00seknucklejohnson45 the gate is technically his property. It's on his land, just blocking the road. He could sue whoever destroys it for destruction of property.
@@johnengland8619 the road runs through his land and dead ends somewhere on his property. So it's a public road that has beach access but he owns everything around it. So where his property starts he just put up a gate.
Cut the gates up and and drive through. If you are approached, make sure you can protect yourself.
Lol cordless tools are amazing these days
Heck ya
@@willkelley7747 Sawzall hiking?
@@evelynwaugh4053 ehh I keep one a grinder with me just in case I encounter steel
@@willkelley7747 I will have to add that to my hiking EDC.
This exact scenario is happening in many many states and there are thousands of these illegal blockages on our public roads
If you want to use the road, just take down the gates and haul them to the scrap yard
no, it's like neighbors that think it's ok play on your driveway without permission. doesn't matter if it's a 1 dollar driveway, or a million dollar driveway. it's still your driveway. you paid for it.. once the land was sold, it no longer belonged to the forest service to maintain. tax dollars wasted yes, but why was there no outrage when it was sold? If it were an issue. then they wouldn't have purchased the land. 2 sides to the coin is all i am saying
@@gregsmith7828 You’re ignorant. There’s a public easement on that road, it’s not a private driveway.
@@mountainguyed67 you are missing the point. if, the road is maintained privately, the easement went with it, You are not paying attention, which means YOU are the ignorant one
@@mountainguyed67 In some places, the Wilkses’ road closings were legal. In other cases, it wasn’t clear.
@@mountainguyed67 public easement to where? To the guys house? That’s called a driveway in every state.
Bigger issues to deal with?? THERE IS NO BIGGER ISSUE THAN THE WEALTHY STEALING FROM THE TAXPAYERS!!
You're right just look at the former president
@@johnjaco5544 Yet after 7 years, nada,zip. you might want to find a stronger argument for all charges so far have been proven either a setup , or false. and only projection by politicians but nothing more. you have been duped and appear too shallow to realize it
@@johnjaco5544 hows Beijing
We the People need to fight for our rights.
I think the locals have missed the opportunity to tell the rich people entering the back country isn't to be messed with .I know of a few cabins that continue to be broken into and trashed because the builder has contracted all out of town companies and didn't help the locals with the opportunity to make a few bucks . We built ours from all locally sourced lumber , had the water line installed by some random friend of a friend we met at the hardware store , driveway and clearing for cabin cut in by a husband and wife we met at the beer distributor, the word travelled fast in a small country town . We have never had a single issue with the locals. Respect the unwritten rules of the people that were born and raised there , they don't care for one second that you own it . Respect the ones that will keep a eye on your stuff when your not there
You're advocating domestic terrorism?
Right on, keep them public.
Soon the government will be taking your property and making it public so be careful what u wish for
@@blumie006 soon? How old is the Charles F. McDevitt Youth Assists Sports Complex. That is an example of government land seizure.
This is a fire hazard. It's like blocking an emergency exit, or a fire hydrant. If you take that legal route, it may yield better results.
but if it burns. the land owner has to put it out . it's on them at that point
@@gregsmith7828 Oh, yeah. That fire will absolutely know to stop at the property boundary and will not even think about destroying all the neighboring homes, fences, outbuildings, farm equipment, etc. as well as any small town that happens to be nearby.
@@evelynwaugh4053 then use those resources for the neighbor and stop complaining
@@gregsmith7828 You win most idiotic comment of the day. Congrats.
I carry a fully charged 20v 4" grinder in my vehicle just for situations like this. Comes in handy when you are illegally clamped in the city too.
Are you using cut wheels? They slice through better.
I was literally thinking the same thing! 20V grinder and or saws-all make quick work of an illegal roadblock... and said roadblock is easily recycled and or re-purposed... let them file a lawsuit to get their scrap metal back.
Dont get caught, illegal or not its illegal to damage anyones property on your land or not
Me too
Nothing is illegal, until you get caught.
We have the same problem in Oregon. Road access to public forest land blocked by gates where the roads cross timber company land, really sucks.
Cut the gate … that’s simple
Rip em out.
As to cutting the gate or destroying it....there may be circumstances that you might not be aware of, like temporary concern of safety road closures for logging or mining vehicle traffic. These closures might have some temporary legal standing. Cutting the lock, limits your liability. If it clearly is a sovereign citizen land seizure, you might be able to damage the gate itself so that it will need to be replaced. Armed guard? Get the name(s). Bring the police. Check the guard's ID. ake sure a report is filed. The guards can be called as witnesses....and can be held partially responsible for blockage.
They do that in California too. People put up Gates and paint them Brown and try to pass them off as a forest service gate.
We had the same issue in Nevada with the Ranchers. You cannot block access to public land. Not all the Ranchers just some did this. They all learned the hard way.
I dealt with this same problem in the Sierra Nevada's in California. A guy in the Forest Service admitted that some wealthy women would tell the Forestry which roads to place gates. She hated hunters and had all the gates closed. She was so wealthy, she would sue the Forestry. The Forestry said it didn't matter if they won because they couldn't afford all her lawsuits, so they give in to her demands.
Problem....Forest Service gates are Federal property. YOUR tax dollars paid for these gates. The landowners should pay for the gates.....and their replacements, should they age poorly. A legal challenge could be brought against the landowners for blockage....a civil case, if the FS can be left out of it. The loser if usually responsible for legal fees of the winner. The Fed is famous for rolling over to lawsuits.
What’s this cunts name ?
Why doesn’t a judge issue an order to keep it open until a resolution is found
Because the judge is likely a city dweller and has zero care for this kind of an issue.
@@vertisce2845 your assumption is as valid as any I can think of 👌
Only reason they are buying is mineral mining and what they looked into but they are going about it quietly. Just research them.
regardless of their intent for the land, if they bought it, it's theirs
@@gregsmith7828 zoning laws say other wise for a lot of places
@@mrstache6243 it's still theirs. and a hypothetical is not fact. are there zoning laws? or do you really even know?
@@gregsmith7828 They own the land that has public roads on it yes. Nobody cares about their land, we care about the obstructed publicly owned road that goes through their land to publicly owned land.
@@edwardnigma6568 that's the thing. the road came with the land is my understanding. what was once public, is now private. and folks don't understand that part. only accessible areas right of way for utilities. or firefighting, not the for public use. the government sold those rights with that purchased land, as in all inclusive. including road
Built with public money. Charge the Wilkes about a million dollars a day to block the road.
For each blockage.
They own the land the road is on. The only real rights that exist, are the access of maintenance crews and forestry personnel . NOT TRESPASSERS. Would you think it's ok that i went through your house, out your back door to gain access to my backyard? or would you say. go around. same issue
@@gregsmith7828 for public access as well as was stated
Either way they can remove/destroy the roads... so no one can trespass... problem solved... nothing nobody can do now...
@@gregsmith7828 Not true. The duration of time and origin qualify this road as what is known in Idaho law as a public highway.
I can torch that gate off in 30 seconds. Problem solved.
I can pull it down with my Ural in about the same amount of time. If I was out there, would suggest a fun contest! ;-) Guys in trucks with chains may want to get in on it! Boise Ridge road is a well known road, prosecute and fine the piss out of them.
i can yank your front door off in 2 minutes. but that doesn't allow me access. legally
Chain, 4x4, and pitch it down the hill into the gully.
Angle Grinder.
Do what we do in South Carolina, cut them down.
Does that include gates on public land put up by the government? Some of that happens here in California, people say the government can’t keep us off our land.
@@mountainguyed67 yep yep
This goes on all over WA as well
A chain and a pickup would take care of the gates!
The rules do not apply to the rich elite!
we got two guys in arkansas that have money running out there ears and they love atv and hunting and got it passed in one county that the forest service had to take every gate off every public or former logged road
That's cool
yeah it made it easier for people who like to ride or hunters who use dogs to hunt
So the moral of the story is............
The only way to fight against a rich guy,
Is with another rich guy?
Regular guy be damned?
Talk about abuse of power. Ugh
I keep hearing people say "most" of the road has easements. What about the rest?
The rest is "workments"
Those brothers sound mighty accident prone.
These guys are the same kind that took barb wire and fenced off all the open range in the 1800's cut it all down now before it's to late.
Don'tt see how this is relevant. Open range is still open range, unless it was legally bought and titled.
Plus, fences were required when formerly open range lands were sold to farmers. The cattlemen had to fence their land, farmers didn't.
These billionaires flagrant disregard for federal law is disgraceful. They should be arrested and spend some time in a federal penitentiary.
Also, the Forrest Service is the Federal Agency charged with maintaining this Right-of-Way, presumably... why haven’t they removed these illegal gates?
Who says they're illegal? Not all forest service roads are open to public access. Particularly not the ones that are on private property.
@@RealMesaMike
Did you watch the video?
Bust the lock and install one of your own and give all the people you know a key.
Or just take an angle grinder with you
And go to jail?
The State of Idaho is failing their citizens/residents for 2 greedy, evil brothers who do NOT live here. This IS against the law. There has to be a "right of way/access", especially considering Idaho taxpayers funds are maintaining this road. File a class action suit, the Citizens of Idaho vs. Wilks Brothers & The State of Idaho, for denial of access, misappropriation of taxpayer funds, fraud...etc.
is there an easement on the land?
Can't blame them for having money to purchase... you would do the same if you bought the land and had to deal with trespassers and vandalizers
@@Riddick00001 they do not own that land no one does, them owning the road is suspect but people have a right to easements anyways
What do you mean they don't own the land?
No dought they will pay kick backs to keep it closed
...and any Republican will accept it!!!
just take bolt cutters with you. since those brother's are blocking public roads, you can easily just cut the locks. Since what they did is illegal, they can't really say anything against it.
You're confused. It's not a public road.
The key is to look at the wording in the brother’s deed to see if the road was mentioned in a separate paragraph being listed as a public easement or right of way. If not mentioned, then they own it privately. The paperwork is filed for public access in the county tax assessor’s office.
How does no one notice suddenly out of nowhere someone claims public land? Even if it is a ways away from high-traffic areas.
Nobody's claiming public land. It's private land and the road in question is part of it. The question is whether the public has a right to use the road to access public lands on the other side of the private land. It's all going to depend on whether or not the right kind of easment exists.
@@RealMesaMike
So you have no idea what the word easement means?
@@neilkurzman4907 what are you talking about? If a public access easement exists , then yes the public is allowed to use it. But a forestry service right-of-way isn’t necessarily a public access easement. I’m guessing that in this case it’s not.
@@RealMesaMike
You’re guessing, but the article says there is an easement.
Rip the gates down send those carpet baggers back home
Wilks huge in McCall Idaho,they've shut everything down,hu ting grounds camping hiking,mushroom hunting is huge up here,all of our old grounds are gone!
Dewalt battery grinder with zip blade will go through that lock, chain, gate or hinge in under a minute.
Willfully destroying private property to gain access to private land for trespassing purposes.... I would suggest you don't.
If there is a forest fire on their private land do they or the taxpayers pay to fight it????
Imagine buying the house across from yours and saying you now own the road between them.
Bad analogy. The brothers own the land the road is on, so now the dispute is the over the road and who will control it’s use.......but I’m no lawyer.
@@danastewart3091 They don’t own the land if there’s a public easement. I have an easement like that through my property that’s in the middle of National Forest.
mountainguyed67: That's my point, control. If there is an easement the owner's own the land the road is on but they don't control it's use. I believe the existence of an easement was in question.
But why would I buy the house across from mine when I already own the one across from that one?
Bought some land and our road is public but not paved and had to give up 15 ft to pave. So if they bought it with a assessment giving them the road rights you may have a big fight coming.
It was built and now it has been sold. Time goes on. If the public wanted public space they should have bought the land when it came up for sale and formally created a park.
WOOSH!
Idaho locals just remove the gate it's that simple. If they can break the law so can you. Remove it and keep removing them.
To much greed in this country
I think I may have missed a point somewhere. It's said that the government builds the road and maintained Road but is the road on private property because if the brothers paid for the entire property and the road is part of the property that's where I'm lost.
USFS owns the road that cut through private property. Therefore, the public can use the road. They just can't get out and start walking onto private property.
It;s called an easment. look it up.
@@Raythe But does the easement exist for the general public's use? Doesn't seem so in this case.
I'm from Texas WAS GOING BUY SOME LAND OUT THERE ALSO NOT SURE NOW
So when the Park service puts up gates I can cut them down to?
all government roads were made with public funds, but not all are intended for general public access. fs roads are generally not. the name of this road is forest service road 374. it may or may not have easements for various locations. one would need to see the verbage in said easement documents to see the stated reasons and beneficiaries of them. it would also cover the ability of the landowner to erect gates.
if dfd violated established laws and easements then it should be simple to prove it. and it (they) should be prosecuted. are those documents available for the public to see? but it looks like people who have had permission to use private lands for so many years just don't like having that privilege taken away by the new rich kids on the block.
Thing that I wonder about is why does the state of Idaho have to do anything? Forest service is a federal entity. This is just like in the Sierra. They don't do anything except negative things anymore. The forest service is either absent, they're aiding and abetting setting the fires, or they're giving people tickets and citations that by the way are federal offenses for ridiculous things. The sheriff in my county no longer allows the forest service law enforcement to enforce any state laws on the forest service lands because they were being so heavy-handed. It's weird. They either obstructive to people being able to use the public lands, or they're just burning it down. By the way, I am a direct witness to them just burning the forest down, and I am also a direct witness of them purposefully not doing anything to put out fires that they had set. I am not talking about controlled burns. I am talking about major fires that took out tens of thousands and 100,000 acres plus of land.
Well next time I am rolling through Idaho trying to access Public lands and I see an that orange gate. It may not be there after info through.
It doesn't matter when the road was built or who built it. You can buy land from the Forest Service. You can also trade land with the Forest Service.
YEAH and I'll BET they MOVED from SAN FRANCISCO to TEXAS
Nope they're Texas Republicans.
ACTUALLY they DID not DO THAT! ALSO, are YOU OKAY or are you HAVING a BRAIN ANEURYSM?
@@michelewalburn4376 even worse
LA
Why is there a question. Bull dose the gates
These brothers shut off roads all around mccall and new meadows. Blocking right of way
Grab a cordless Milwaukee cutter/grinder and cut the gate down from the main pillars on the ground, and when you're done, stick two nice American flags into both pillar stumps.
I would suggest you don't willfully destroy private property in your quest to trespass onto private lad.
You can't grasp what's happening here
Yes it a public Easment for foresty service. Forestry service just need to put there lock on gate
yep, how this sort of thing usually works out. the public can just hike it.
Jaime Martinez. You’re contradicting yourself. If it’s public the Forest Service wouldn’t close it, except for seasonal closures.
@@mountainguyed67 No, he's correct. The USFS will put their lock on the gate also, and will maintain administrative access usually in these cases where a large private landowner wants to gate a road. They also gate lots of roads for various reasons, seasonally and otherwise, depends on the National Forest/ranger district how aggressive they are.
I am actively researching to find an organization that works to protect and lobby for the protection of public lands/conservation. We have to protect our land with our votes and pocketbooks.
Is it true that gates lead to equipment breakdowns?
Sometimes, gates cause fuel lines to be surprisingly cut
Sawzall, angle grinder with cutoff wheel
So any update?
Public land is just that public land and MUST be accessible to public yet million of acres are not because they are surrounded by private land owners telling the public "no access".
They (the private land owners) say they are the stewards protecting public land... Wrong, but they get away with it.. Our constitution gives the public the RIGHT to access PUBLIC LAND!
@Danny DNA burden of evidence lies on the positive, not the negative. The billionaires would have to prove that there IS another road to the public lands, not vice versa
@Danny DNA actually it is the case, as the claim is the gate is cutting them off from the only known access to those public lands, which is true if no one knows of an alternative route. The property owners would then have to find an alternative route if they wanted to challenge it
@Danny DNA so wouldn’t their evidence be all the records of it being a publicly funded road created years ago for the purpose of providing access to the public land? That’s already been established
@@vincespencer6569 Perhaps the road was built to provide access to the public land, but that doesn't mean it's for public access to the public land. Perhaps it was only built for the forestry service to access the land. It depends on what kind of easement, if any, exists.
@@RealMesaMike Thats a pretty wild assumption. Why would you build a single road to PUBLIC land that the PUBLIC isn’t allowed to use? Makes no sense
Pull them up then.
Public land is just that, Public Land. The DNR would have had to ok that deal. Which they have no right. This sounds really fishy to me.
PragerU funders, ladies and gentlemen
Daily Wire too.
Simple mistake, take it down, besides, the government built it, they should have been involved with the sale since a publicly built road... I'm going with maintained as well was on the property.
The governemnt (USFS in particular) still has access to the road. Doesn't mean the general public has a right to use it.
i have a big chain and a heavy bumper
This is like saying that atv clubs own the land that the trails are on even though alot of it is privately owned by civilians who allow the club's to build trails through their land and the owners of the properties can still gate it off at anytime if they feel people are destroying the land by littering of making huge ruts everywhere
Big truck, big chain. No more fence. Very easy solution. 👌
The same problem is happening in califirnia
gill bates bought up most land in arkansas andLa. its ridiculous!!! smal ppl cant buy squat!
People are sick of the rich getting away with breaking the law.
Y is ID selling that & other lands in the first place ????
Is the state broke or going broke ???!!
Lol those gates and signs wont stop nun haven't so far.
Aren’t there any country boys in Idaho with an acetylene torch ?
In the U.S., billionaires are pretty much above the law -- and they know it.
once you buy property, how is that above the law?
Take their money, then sue them back to Texas
They sould pay 4 million dollars a month or a day until they stop
..."a month or a day..."
Make up your mind ...
When is this video/ article going to be updated?
Why? Have they been removed?
Land thieves in the Jordan, MT area have done this same thing around the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, blocking g off thousands of acres of public land from public access! The local game warden, sheriff, and judges are all either too afraid to confront these thieves or are complicit with these thieves. We used to hunt in that area but stopped when we decided we didn’t want to support a third world country within the great USA.
watch lockpicking lawyer and learn how to pick those simple locks.
Tannerite...
Cutting torch will take care of that gate.
Any update?
What is the point of having blm properties if we can't access it
They are doing the same in Oregon
Why I always bring my hacksaw, or my torch
The pots growers to this in Kali and no one blinks an eye. Government turns their backs.
I need some gates. Can I come up and grab them ? ( Asking for a friend in KY )
I presume the government is also maintaining the road. I'm confused if the road leads to public lands or is all the land private?
Same thing going on in Coeur D Alene also.
If you buy land and want to limit it’s use that’s your decision to make. Would you want a bunch of random people to wander around your house? It’s the same principle
You can't block off a public road just because it runs through your property. Just like you can't block off city streets since they are publicly owned you can't block off a public road. If these "brothers" don't want people trespassing onto their land then they need to erect fences.
It is the publics responsibility to yank these gates out or cut them up with a torch. Fill the locks with supper glue. Make it unusable.
Any real estate lawyer will tell you that whether the right of way remains public or not is addressed in the wording of the deed. The government sells land all the time with this situation.
Next time it catches fire let it burn.
Guys just keep sending the local drunk up there eventually he will go on a beer run and take the gate out on his way to the package store
Well if the gate mysteriously disappeared. They wouldn’t have a case right? 😉
Private lands are just that: Private. Service roads can be restricted by private parties if they own the surrounding lands. In this case they do. There is no reasonable purpose to travel a road that is surrounded by private land and even ends on private land. People simply want to use this as a shortcut to trespass.
Someone should send a message back and make those gates disappear
Tear them out, repeat until they get the hint. And if we know what is good for Idaho don't allow anymore mining.
That gate would be laying in the ditch next time they came thru
Someone needs to get a torch....
Cutting Torch will stop the Wilks from putting up gates.
So who's to blame? The Wilks or the guys who took the money
A person that buys land is not stealing.
They didn’t buy the road, they bought the land on either side of the road.
@@mountainguyed67 mountain guy your a genius! If they own the land that surrounded the road and the road leads to their property it can only be used as a fire service road. That means it is not open to the general public. I can not tell you how many people I have towed or arrested weekly for trespassing for just this issue.
@@charlesreed3672 Then you’re a super genius! I have acreage within the National Forest, a NF Road goes all the way through it on a public easement. The video made clear the property in question also has an easement, and their blocking the road blocks access to other private properties and other areas of the National Forest.
@@mountainguyed67 Then you apparently heard what you wanted to hear. The actual fact is this a small segment of the road has an easement. Not the entire road, a small segment! Not all the road was built by the public as well. If you stretch the truth then it can be perceived as true but it is not. The map shows it as private. Having a fire road for county access does not give the public a right to be on the road. That half a mile built in the 1930s and that 700 feet built in 1949 does not qualify as public access. The Fire towers are gone and the land was sold to the public. The legislature would have to change the law to make it legal for right of travel. It will not and no state will. A man in the United States still has the right to control their property.
And Violating the American disabilities act which requires access for mobility devices and vehicles.