The AJ Linnell Memorial Trail was finished in 2015. It was built as a community trail meant to eventually reach the public land east of Victor, but for more than a decade it couldn't legally get there. Where the trail met the Bureau of Land Management boundary, the private and federal parcels touched only at a corner. That "corner crossing" left no lawful way to step from the trail onto federal land.
On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, the Victor City Council approved two public-access easements across private land, one called the Bender easement and one called the Thomas easement. They close that gap. No new trail was built, and none can be until next year at the earliest. What changed is the legal status of a short stretch of ground. That stretch has its own rules, and they don't match the rules on the BLM land a few steps further on.
What the Vote Changed This Fall
According to Teton Valley News, the public can now legally use the AJ Trail to reach the existing trails beyond it. Those trails connect to several miles of routes on BLM-managed land. The city says the easements provide the only lawful public access across private property to the BLM land next to town. That land includes the Victor Front and designated routes in BLM's Upper Snake East Travel Management Area. The wider network can still be reached from the Mud Lake area. The new easements matter because they connect the AJ Trail itself.
Several things are still pending. The council also approved a memorandum of understanding with Teton Valley Trails and Pathways (TVTAP) and Mountain Bike the Tetons. The mayor was authorized to sign it only after final review by the city attorney and approval by both nonprofits' boards. After that, BLM has to approve the agreement before any new trail construction or improvements can start, which Teton Valley News reports could happen next year at the earliest.
For the rest of 2026, the trail on the ground looks the same. What's different is that you can now legally keep going onto the BLM land.
Two Rulebooks on One Outing
The easements cover narrow strips of private land, and their terms are stricter than the rules on the public land they lead to. The staff report and easement text the council reviewed allow use only by people on foot or on human-powered bicycles. The text bans "all classes of electric bicycles, whether pedal-assist or throttle-operated." Teton Valley News reported what the adjoining BLM land allows.
| Activity | On the Bender and Thomas easement strips | On the BLM land beyond |
|---|---|---|
| E-bikes | All classes prohibited | Class 1 and Class 3 allowed |
| Horses and pack animals | Prohibited | Allowed |
| Hunting | Prohibited, along with discharging firearms, trapping and harassing wildlife | Allowed |
| Carrying weapons or transporting dead animals | Prohibited | Follow the rules for the specific BLM route |
Read together, the two columns lead to a practical conclusion. A Class 1 e-bike is legal on the BLM routes but can't be ridden across the easement strips to reach them. The same applies to a rider on horseback. A hunter can legally hunt the BLM land but can't carry a weapon across the strips, and can't carry a harvested animal back out that way. For any of these trips, the AJ Trail access isn't an option. Other access points, such as the Mud Lake area, are. Going the other way, hikers and mountain bikers on the BLM side will share that land with uses the strips themselves don't allow.
The easements also bar commercial use: no guided trips, races or organized events. There's an exception for trail-stewardship organizations and youth groups, including youth education programs and local bike teams.
Teton Valley News called the mismatch an open question for enforcement. Dan Verbeten, executive director of TVTAP, told the paper that outreach and education about allowed uses will be a short-term priority, especially for e-bikes. He also said BLM and the U.S. Forest Service are working on a reciprocity agreement that would let Forest Service law enforcement officers enforce rules on BLM land.
The easement text doesn't set hours or include a dog rule. It does let the city close the right-of-way temporarily for damage, safety, maintenance or resource protection. Under the memorandum, the two nonprofits would coordinate any such closures and handle public outreach on the easement terms.
Why the Private Strips Are Stricter
The strictness comes from how the easements were made. Teton Valley News reports that the landowners, David and Holly Bender and Yara Thomas, negotiated and signed the easements voluntarily. The conditions show what an owner gives up and what they protect. Vegetation can't be cut or habitat disturbed beyond what trail construction, maintenance and erosion control need. Any ground disturbed during trail building has to be rehabilitated, which may include replanting native shrubs, grasses and trees. The easements are granted for recreational purposes under Idaho Code § 36-1604. If that statute is ever repealed or amended so that it no longer protects the landowner, and the landowner isn't otherwise adequately covered, they can end the right-of-way by written notice.
So the public access depends partly on one Idaho statute staying in place. It also depends on users following the conditions printed in the easement.
Wildlife came up throughout the process. The council first took up the easements on August 12. It delayed a decision after hearing concerns about wildlife on the Victor Front and asked staff to get more information from state and federal agencies. In an agenda report, Idaho Fish and Game described the Victor Front as a wildlife conservation priority "because it provides some of the last remaining high-quality big game habitat in an increasingly fragmented landscape." Matt Pieron, Idaho Fish and Game's regional supervisor, told Teton Valley News his agency has no authority over BLM land decisions. In an email, BLM field manager John Reffit said the agency had already done the required environmental review for its 2024 Travel Management Plan and that the proposed trail work "aligns with this analysis."
By the vote, the council had more than 150 written and in-person comments. They included support from the Board of Teton County Commissioners and Idaho State Parks and Recreation. Some residents raised concerns about wildlife, grazing allotments, land disturbance and traffic in neighborhoods near the trailhead. The meeting ran nearly four hours. Council members Stacy Hulsing and Emily Sustick voted yes and Amy Ross voted no. Council member Erica Linnell, A.J. Linnell's widow, abstained because of a personal interest.
"I do believe that if there is access to the BLM parcel and the Forest Service beyond, it should be available to all."
Mayor Sue Muncaster, during council deliberations
The Parking Answer Is Sherman Park
The neighborhood traffic concern shows up in the easement text. The city agreed not to build, authorize or designate a formal parking lot or expanded paved parking within the eastern 125 meters of Cemetery Road. Instead, the city is to identify preferred off-site parking at Sherman Park or other suitable public lots in town. Signs and maps are supposed to tell trail users that on-street parking near the trailhead is discouraged. Those signs are required by the easements. Whether they're up yet depends on the memorandum being finalized and the work being done.
Sherman Park, at 180 Elm Street S, is also the site of the first annual VictorFest. It runs Friday, October 9, from 4 to 8 p.m., is free, and includes local activities, demonstrations, food and live music. The city is hosting it with the Victor Skate Park Foundation.
What Is Still a Plan
The bigger trail system is still on paper. TVTAP describes an approximately 8-mile nonmotorized loop that would connect existing and new trails to the AJ Trail. Its projects page lists alignment work, ground-truthing the trail on site, a BLM agreement and any needed easements as next steps. In a January letter, BLM's John Reffit expressed the agency's "strong support" for MBT and TVTAP proposals to design, build and maintain new singletrack on BLM land near Victor under what's called the AJ Linnell South Trails Project.
The schedule has already moved once. In October 2025, the Trust for Public Land announced it had protected a 10.2-acre parcel near Fox Creek as a possible northern trailhead to the neighboring BLM land. At the time, it expected first-phase construction "next summer," meaning summer 2026, and said it was still raising money for trailhead access and later phases. East Idaho News, citing the Trust for Public Land, reports that the parcel gives access to roughly 5,000 acres of BLM land. With BLM approval still needed after the September vote, the earliest construction date is now 2027.
The money behind the effort is widely spread. The city reports that the AJ Linnell Memorial Trail Fund has received 425 individual contributions toward the current project. That adds to more than a decade of volunteer trail work and cooperation from private landowners.
Access rules like these often decide what a piece of land is actually good for. On the Victor Front, a few narrow easement strips now set who can reach several miles of public trails, and on what. If you're thinking about property near public land in Teton Valley and want to understand recorded access, easement conditions and how they affect day-to-day use, the team at Harland Brothers Real Estate is glad to go through the documents with you. Work With Us.
