Martin's Cove Still Up for Grabs

by Christine Lichtenfels

Girl with handcart on the trail to Martin's Cove near the Mormon Handcart Visitors Center a Devil's Gate. Photo by Barbara Dobos

Last summer the U.S. House of Representatives failed in its attempt to force the sale of Martin's Cove to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Citizens' outcry over the sale of this public land along the National Historic Trails corridor near Independence Rock and north of Muddy Gap to a religious organization, as well as the opposition of Wyoming U.S. Senators Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi, helped defeat the bill in the Senate. But that's not the end of the story.

Recently, Senator Thomas proposed that the LDS Church be offered a 20-year lease for Martin's Cove. During the lease period, the church would control the area. But, as Casper public lands activist Barbara Dobos notes, "A 20-year lease is as bad as a 99-year lease: de facto ownership."

Ironically, LDS Riverton stake president Lloyd Larsen opposed the proposal on the grounds that it would provide the church no more control over the use of the site than it has now. (The church currently has a cooperative agreement with the BLM.)

Apparently, the church wants more control over Martin's Cove to manage it as it sees fit, although Larsen maintains that the church wants to preserve the ecology and beauty of the cove and encourage visitors to respect its history.

Devil's Gate near Martin's Cove Photo by Barbara Dobos

Church representatives are now reportedly talking to nearby landowners about buying their properties to facilitate a land swap with the BLM for Martin's Cove. Land swaps are typically easier to arrange than outright sales of land by the BLM.

In a related matter, the BLM is currently seeking public comments on a special recreation permit application for organized groups of Mormon handcart trekkers.

Last year, between June 10 and August 15, more than 12,000 handcart trekkers in groups organized by the LDS Church traveled the trail from near Sweetwater Station to Rock Creek Hollow southeast of Atlantic City. Despite purportedly seeking to re-create the experience of Mormon handcart travelers in the mid-1800s, today's trekkers are typically accompanied by numerous vehicles, even refrigerated trucks. Such an onslaught monopolizes the trail and leaves behind trash, waste and damage to the trail and adjacent lands.

While Mormon interest in the National Historic Trails Corridor is understandably strong, these routes were also used by tens of thousands of other courageous, adventuresome pioneers who established our nation's foothold in western states. All Americans have a stake in the proper management, use and protection of these historic public lands.