Roberts

ENTERPRISE — Complaints have been coming to the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners about progress — or the lack thereof — on improving the Zumwalt Road.

The road is the major access to the Zumwalt Prairie, in the southeastern part of Wallowa County, a natural resource managed by the Nature Conservancy and a favorite hunting area.

Commissioner Susan Roberts, the commissioner who works most closely with the county road department, said she’s received a number of complaints about the condition of the road, even after the road crews have worked on it.

“The problem with the Zumwalt Road is we have all that rock out there, but we did not get as much rain in the spring as we wanted,” she said.

Roberts noted that the county has been busy putting tons of gravel down, but this summer being fairly dry, once the road was used the gravel “just washboards it.”

One remedy attempted has been to haul water to the road by truck.

“Until we get moisture out there, we’re not going to be able to fix it,” she said.

Roberts said it is primarily the back 10 miles of the 21-mile road that are in the worst shape. The first 10-11 miles are graveled and in “fairly good shape,” she said. “It isn’t good. I don’t disagree that it’s bad. We can’t get enough water out there in trucks.”

Money shortage

Roberts said that, as with many things the commissioners deal with, the problem is making the dollars stretch. She said reductions in state revenue from gasoline taxes and federal Secure Rural Schools Act money that was intended to replace timber revenue — part of which goes for road work — have cut county road funds about in half.

“We have half the money and still got all the roads,” she said.

Roberts said it’s also difficult keeping up with all the county roads with just an eight-person crew, although the county is trying to hire two more.

“I have eight guys trying to do 700 miles of road and everybody’s piece of road is most important,” she said.

Roberts was fiercely defensive of the road department employees.

“We get people calling me and telling me what a bad job we did, and my guys don’t know what they’re doing,” she said. “Those guys are working their butts off.”

Priorities

The commissioner said the county’s first priorities are to maintain the roads needed for mail and school bus routes. After that comes commerce, mostly cattle, crops and logs.

“Recreation routes are on the bottom of the list,” she said.

Roberts said from her experience, the commercial road users are generally patient and it’s the hunters and other recreationists who complain the loudest. She said she understands it when hunters object to their trailers getting damaged because of the quality of the roads, but others need to have the higher priority.

“If I was going to do it for anyone it’d be for the cattlemen. They’re patient,” Roberts said. “I really do not appreciate being told my guys don’t know what they’re doing and don’t know how to do their job.”

She assured county residents that as soon as conditions permit, work to improve the Zumwalt Road will resume.

“The main problem is once you put the rock on you have to get moisture,” Roberts said. “If it rains this fall, they’ll be back out there.”