Connecting the county

Sweetwater County is one step closer to being part of a trail system connecting communities across Southwest Wyoming. 

The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution designating and enrolling county roads as open to off-highway vehicle travel during their meeting on Tuesday. 

The decision came after discussion of Sweetwater County being a part of Southwest Wyoming Off-road Trails (SWOT), a group hoping to create an interconnected trail system people can use to travel through and connect with destinations across the state, particularly in the southwest. Discussions over joining the trail system have continued over the past few months after the commissioners heard a presentation from SWOT President Mark Tesoro in January. Tesoro had initially presented the idea at the end of 2021, but came back to speak to the new commissioners and share updates on other communities joining the project.

Last week, Commissioner Taylor Jones got together a group of individuals from the County Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Office, and the Public Works Department to discuss the possibility of moving forward with enrolling county roads in SWOT and removing a license plate requirement on off-road vehicles (ORVs). 

Sweetwater County Public Works Director Gene Legerski spoke with the commissioners during Tuesday's commission meeting about the proposed resolution. Legerski explained that if the commission chose to enroll county roads in the program, those roads would be passed along to Wyoming State Trails to be adopted, after which State Trails would work with the Wyoming Department of Transportation to make further connections. 

"Really all we're doing is enrolling roads in a program that will allow somebody to legally travel with a state registration sticker," Commissioner Jones said. 

One of SWOT's goals has been to have a trail system that people can use with off-road vehicles without needing a license plate, since this will allow more people, including visitors from out of state, to use the trails. 

"I do have some concerns about this," Legerski said of the resolution. 

The main concern Legerski brought up was safety, particularly considering different types of traffic on different county roads. He pointed out that some roads are mostly used recreationally, but others can have heavy industrial traffic with large trucks using them at high speeds. He noted that the definition of ORVs includes not only side-by-sides but also four-wheelers and dirt bikes that don't get up to higher speeds and don't offer as much protection.

"I hate when people use safety as a reason to not do something, but this is a big concern of mine," Legerski said. 

Commissioners Mary Thoman and Robb Slaughter agreed with the potential safety concerns, and brought up other points to be considered. Commissioner Thoman said she has had constituents call with concerns about agricultural areas and potential effects on wildlife, and she suggested designating only some county roads but not all of them for the program. Commissioner Slaughter also brought up the question of whether the program could lead to any decrease in revenue from license plates and sales tax on ORVs. 

Commissioner Jones noted that he believed any revenue loss would be minimal as many local ORVs would still need license plates to travel in other areas. He also said that a blanket enrollment of all county roads would be easier than only choosing some roads, since it would be easier for people traveling through to not have to worry about signage and maps about where they could travel, and it would make it easier for law enforcement. As far as safety, Jones pointed out that the state determines regulations, and most of the use of various county roads by ORVs is already occurring, so the resolution wouldn't change that. 

The commissioners also discussed the need to work with cities like Rock Springs and Green River as they will need to pass resolutions to enroll their roads in order for the trail system to truly connect through the community. 

Commissioner Island Richards pointed out that discussions could continue indefinitely over the details, but he thought it would be best to be able to move forward. He noted that people can give feedback on what works best and problems can be addressed in the future. He also said that it wouldn't do any good for the cities to enroll their roads if the county hadn't, and he believed the county had to take the first step. 

"I don't want to be the impediment to progress," he said. 

Both a shorter and longer version of the resolution were presented to the commissioners, with the long form adding more details on state statutes and legislation. The commissioners noted that the short form was less likely to need changing in the future if there were legislation changes. 

Commission Chairman Keaton West also noted that he had received a letter of support from Sweetwater County legislators regarding the county joining the SWOT system. 

Commissioner Jones motioned to approve the shorter form of the resolution and to enroll all county roads. Commissioner Richards seconded the motion. The commissioners voted by roll call. Commissioner Thoman noted that she still has concerns about safety but believes in unlimited access to county roads, so she voted "aye." Commissioner Slaughter said it was "a tough one" but he would vote in favor based on the testimony from the other commissioners. Commissioners Jones, West, and Richards all voted "aye," so the resolution passed unanimously.