Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) has announced they will be using a private road to haul out of Ghost Valley instead of Jamieson Road and Richards Road.
“We ended up coming to an agreement to cross some private land and build an alternative option to Jamieson Road,” said Ed Kulcsar with SLS.
He said the private road, which is already completed and operational, is located south of Jamieson Road.
“With this winter being an unusually warm one we’ve always been exploring other options for the haul in anticipation of an early spring breakup.”
The harvest season for SLS’s clear cut of the “B9 area” in Ghost Valley started in November 2015 as it relies on winter conditions to freeze the ground to a certain extent. The subsequent hauling season started officially for SLS on Jan. 19.
Kulcsar said they did take residents concerns into consideration but said the company has demonstrated their ability to use Jamieson Road and Richards Road for hauling in a safe manner.
Many residents in the area were concerned the large trucks operating on such a narrow road would pose huge risks for drivers.
“There’s no shoulders, no anything (on Jamieson Road) – it’s so narrow in sections that even two normal-sized pick-up trucks can’t pass,” said Patti Reyes in a previous interview.
Reyes lives just off of Jamieson Road has been outspoken with her concerns about the hauling.
According to the Municipal District of Bighorn’s website, the current Road Use Agreement is still in effect and in the event of unforeseen circumstances, SLS may need to resume the haul on Jamieson and Richards Roads.
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