Is this what it’s come to? Loving the Foothills to death means the need for more rules

The list of things to love about Boise is long: the Boise River, the Greenbelt, downtown, Boise State University, Bogus Basin, Lucky Peak, our city parks, the Foothills.

The Foothills is one of the most often-cited reasons people love living in Boise, not just for the scenic backdrop but because the area is a vital source of outdoor recreation that so many Treasure Valley residents love.

Unfortunately, we’re loving the Foothills to death.

Going off trail, hiking and biking on muddy trails, letting your dog off leash and off trail are all perennial problems that seem to get worse every year.

The call goes out every year for people to obey the rules, but very little seems to change.

“If people were to just adhere to the basic courtesy guidelines of Foothills use, we would be able to manage the Foothills in an environment that would create an experience across all lines of users, that would be extremely beneficial for everyone,” Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway said in a phone interview.

The problem is worse now than it’s ever been, not only because of the Treasure Valley’s explosive population growth, but also because of the pandemic.

The pandemic heightened the value of the Foothills, as cooped-up residents swarmed the trails, looking for an outlet, a respite and a recharge of the soul. But it’s also heightened the problems.

“It’s kind of a combination of everything,” Holloway said. “It’s the perfect storm, and quite honestly — even though some of our users would probably argue with this comment I’m about to make — but it’s a good problem to have. I see it as healthy. Yes, the conflict may not be healthy, but people using the trails, people recreating. The increase in use is really good to see because it shows that people really are out taking advantage of what we have to offer, that’s free of charge.”

If everyone loves the Foothills so much, why do we seem to be so determined to destroy them?

With crowded trails, trail users go off trail to pass others. During the pandemic, that’s become even more common, as trail users try to social distance. In inclement weather, hikers and bikers will either go off trail to avoid mud puddles or walk and ride through them, causing deeper ruts that worsen over time. With increased use, there are conflicts between hikers and mountain bikers.

As users go off trail, even by a few inches, they damage drainage structures and trample vegetation, widening the trail and leading to erosion. Letting dogs run (and poop) off trail also does damage.

Starting this month, Ridge to Rivers, the agency that oversees more than 200 miles of trails around Boise, is putting in place some rules to try to mitigate these problems.

Trail users on two trails will be asked to travel in one direction only. A third trail will have scheduled use days, and a fourth trail will be pedestrian-only.

This may be just a start.

As traffic on the Foothills trails increases, and as more trail users eschew the rules, it may become necessary for more rules — and even penalties.

No one wants draconian rules; they go against the ethos of the freedom and outdoors of the Foothills.

However, if we don’t follow guidelines and best practices voluntarily, if we don’t choose as individuals to take responsibility for the land, draconian measures to protect the Foothills may become necessary.

“We just keep it out there in the conscience of our users that there are courtesy guidelines we want you to follow,” Holloway said. “And if everybody followed those, there probably would be no issues on the trails, even with the additional growth of usage.”

It’s hard to get people to do the right thing for the right reasons (see wearing a mask to protect others), so unfortunately, such rules may be the only way to preserve this vital resource for future generations.

We recognize there will always be a few people who just don’t or won’t do the right thing. There are some who think the rules don’t apply to them, not recognizing that if enough people skirt the rules, the problem becomes dire.

For anyone who’s hiked on local trails or backpacked into the backcountry, you know what it’s like for one careless person to ruin the experience for the rest of us.

There are also many trail users who want to do the right thing but may not be aware of the need or the reasons to preserve the trails. Boise is now home to thousands of transplants from other parts of the country who may not understand the need to stay off muddy trails that have a soil composition that doesn’t easily bounce back or “heal” from deep ruts or tracks.

Unfortunately, with Boise’s rapid population growth comes the rapid growth in trail misuse. The more people we have bending or breaking the rules, the worse the situation becomes.

“I don’t want reduced use,” Holloway said. “I still want to see people using it because it’s healthy. It creates a healthy community that we have here in Boise, and we have this wonderful asset that is just literally minutes from the core of downtown Boise to utilize, and it can be done safely and it can be done together. We just need to look at what are the best practices to make it safe for people and also make sure that people have a great experience.”

We support simple efforts, such as signage and informational material at trailheads, volunteer efforts to spread the word at trailheads and Ridge to Rivers’ existing trail conditions report to warn when trail users should stay away or use another trail.

We also support the idea of one-way trail use and separating hikers and mountain bikers with designated trails, as is being experimented with this year on Ridge to Rivers.

But we also support, when courtesy guidelines fail, stricter measures, such as formal warnings, citations and even fines for violations, recognizing that enforcement comes with its own challenges.

“We don’t want to be into a situation where we’re hiring a special police patrol to be able to just monitor things in the Foothills,” Holloway said. “We don’t want to do that. We can’t afford to do that and don’t have the resources to do that. Nor should we have to do that, I believe.”

In an ideal world, it wouldn’t come to that; everyone would follow the rules and protect the trails.

“At the end of the day, the biggest thing, the call to action, is just common courtesy, because this is a free system, it is open to everyone,” Holloway said. “It doesn’t matter what your background is, what your social economic background is, religious beliefs, color of your skin. I mean nothing matters in the Foothills. It’s for everyone.”