Oneida County forestry closes roads abandoned by town of Little Rice

The future of portions of Gobler Lake Road and Kelly Fire Lane is uncertain.

Recently the town of Little Rice made the decision to discontinue sections of both of these roads. The Oneida County Forestry, recreation and land department was made aware of this discontinuation via a legal notice.

“All of Kelly Fire Lane located in Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, and 22 of Township 36 North, Range 5 East are to be discontinued,” the legal notice read.  “And all of Gobler Lake Road located in Section 5, T36N, R5E, and that part of Gobler Lake Road located in Section 4, T36N, R5E from the west boundary line of Section 4 to the west boundary line of Government Lot 3 in Section 4, T36N, R5E are to be discontinued.”

Oneida County owns the majority of the land on which those portions of road sit, with a small amount being the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, according to Oneida County forester Jill Nemec. Once a town discontinues a road, its ownership reverts back to the land owner.  

She said the town likely felt there was little advantage to them to keep those roads and upkeep them, as both only served a section of the county forest. At that time she posited the cost of upkeep on the roads was likely a factor in the discontinuation.

When the matter first came to the forestry, recreation and land committee, Nemec said the county would have to decide what to do with those roads. In the case of Gobbler Lane, she felt it may be better suited to being a snowmobile trail or ATV and UTV trail. Although the road was in decent shape, she said visibility for driving on the road was difficult.

In the case of Kelly Fire Lane, Nemec said it was a gravel road in good condition with nothing encroaching on it. This road also offered access to the county forest.

At this month’s committee meeting, on Tuesday, March 10, the matter was addressed further by the committee. The committee agreed they would need more information before making a determination as to what to do with those roads. In light of that, the roads were closed at this time to protect them, Nemec said. This left the future use of those roads in question, at least in the short term. The committee will take the matter up again once they have been afforded a chance to gather more information on the possible best uses of those roads.

Other business

The committee also took up a discussion on a snowmobile bridge contract for Gilmore Creek and Pelican River Trail. However, all of the bids came in above budget, so the awarding of that contract, Nemec said, would be contingent on the county’s ability to procure more funding.

The Friends of Townline Lake Park maintenance agreement was also approved for 2026. There were no changes to that agreement from the preceding year. The Friends group came forward upon hearing the county’s plan to sell off the park several years ago and has since taken over maintenance and upkeep of the park as well as improvements that have been made and planning events on the property.

There were two timber sale extensions that were approved for an additional year. Five timber sales were cancelled.

The next meeting of the Oneida County forestry, recreation and land committee will be held at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 14 at the Oneida County Courthouse.

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].