Comments due on Canadian threat to RV, OHV access in Idaho's Centennials

East Idaho residents who enjoy RV camping, OHV riding and hunting in the mountains of Clark County face the loss of a popular destination: the Centennial Mountains region between I-15 and Kilgore.

Mine would end access to much of the Centennials. (© Tony Huegel)

The threat isn't from conservationists seeking to close popular roads, OHV trails and campsites in the area, which has provided multiple-use opportunities for generations.

 

Instead, the threat is from a foreign gold-mining firm -- Canada's Excellon Resources -- which has no interest in preserving any of that.

Kilgore Project area: See it for yourself

The area of Idaho's Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Clark County that Canada's Excellon Resources proposes to transform into a center of open-pit gold mining is worth a visit in summer or fall.

Tour of the Kilgore Project area (click to enlarge).

To do so, you will need:

-- a high-clearance, dirt-road-worthy vehicle;

-- the national forest's Dubois Ranger District visitor map (available weekdays at the Dubois Ranger District office in Dubois, when open; in Idaho Falls at the Eastern Idaho Visitor Information Center, 355 River Parkway, when open; or online);

-- a full tank of gas (available at Dubois and Spencer; not at Kilgore); and ...

-- food and drinks for the day.

Below is our favorite motor-vehicle loop (when conditions permit, perhaps by mid-July) beginning and ending at Spencer, just off I-15. An easy-to-follow, downloadable gpx track of the route is at the end of this post.