Tribal wilderness violators cited

By Maggie Plummer

PABLO -- Some local young people recently ran afoul of Tribal Fish and Wildlife officers when they allegedly drove their Isuzu Rodeo into the Tribal Wilderness above the trailhead for the North Fork of the Jocko.

They reportedly illegally drove across two backcountry horse/hiker bridges, doing substantial damage to the upper bridge.

A couple of days later, when they tried to drive back out, they got caught.

According to Frank Gillin of Tribal Fish and Wildlife, Seth A. Venne, 23, of St. Ignatius was cited for driving a motor vehicle into the tribal wilderness area and failure to have a joint use recreation permit in his possession. Also cited was passenger Jade Jacob Frey, 27, also of St. Ignatius, for not having a recreation permit.

The young men actually drove their SUV back across the damaged bridge, in spite of its unsafe condition, according to reports.

Tribal officials said they're lucky they didn't get seriously hurt.

The damaged trail bridge must now be replaced, to the tune of approximately $1,000, according to a spokesperson from the Tribal Natural Resources Department.