Victor approves easements connecting a popular trail to public lands
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VICTOR — Thousands of acres of scenic public land east of Victor will soon be easier to reach for hikers, mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts after the city resolved a longtime access issue that had prevented a direct connection between an existing trail and federal land.
More than a decade after the AJ Linnell Memorial Trail was built, the Victor City Council voted Wednesday to approve two public-access easements across private property, creating a legal connection between the trail and adjacent U.S. Bureau of Land Management property.
According to a city news release, the Bender and Thomas easements resolve a long-standing “corner crossing” issue that prevented people using the AJ Trail from legally crossing onto the federal land.
“I do believe that if there is access to the BLM parcel and the U.S. Forest Service beyond, it should be available to all,” Mayor Sue Muncaster said during the meeting.
In the works since 2015
The AJ Linnell Memorial Trail was completed in 2015 as a community recreation trail intended to eventually provide access to public lands east of Victor.
But where the trail approached the BLM boundary, the configuration of private and federal property created a gap that prevented people from legally crossing directly from the trail onto federal land.
The newly approved easements resolve that problem, providing legal access from the AJ Trail to public land along the Victor Front and designated routes within BLM’s Upper Snake East Travel Management Area.
According to the city’s release, the connection is part of a larger vision for recreation east of Victor. Teton Valley Trails and Pathways says plans call for an approximately 8-mile, nonmotorized loop connecting existing and new trails with the AJ Linnell Memorial Trail.
A related 10.2-acre property protected for public access also provides a gateway to roughly 5,000 acres of neighboring BLM land, according to the Trust for Public Land.
The broader public-land network can also be accessed from the Mud Lake area.
The designated federal routes have undergone their own lengthy review. BLM began revising its Upper Snake East Travel Management Plan in 2016 and completed its environmental assessment and travel-management decision in 2024.
Decision followed public debate
The easements generated significant public interest, particularly over concerns about recreation and wildlife along the Victor Front.
The council first considered the proposal Aug. 12 but delayed a decision after hearing concerns about wildlife protection. Council members directed city staff to obtain more information from state and federal land-management agencies before bringing the issue back for a vote.
By Wednesday, the city said council members had received more than 150 written and in-person public comments.
Representatives from the Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Department of Fish and Game also attended the meeting to answer questions. Teton Valley Trails and Pathways and Mountain Bike the Tetons provided information about the proposed trail system, easement requirements and long-term management.
“We asked for additional information on August 12, and we obtained it,” Muncaster said.
The meeting included nearly four hours of presentations, questions, public comment and council deliberation before the votes were taken.
Both easements were approved 2-1, with one abstention. Newly appointed Councilwoman Erika Linnell, widow of AJ Linnell, abstained.
The council also approved a memorandum of understanding with Teton Valley Trails and Pathways and Mountain Bike the Tetons.
Under the agreement, the city will hold the easements as the responsible public agency, while the two recreation organizations will take primary responsibility for stewardship, management and compliance with easement conditions.
The city noted that the AJ Trail has been a community effort for more than a decade, supported by volunteer labor, private landowners, local organizations and state and federal partners. The AJ Linnell Memorial Trail Fund has received 425 individual contributions toward the current project.