Farmer removes fence blocking Steamboat Trace Trail just in time for regional bike ride
NEBRASKA CITY, Nebraska — A cease-fire has been reached in a years-long fight between a farmer and a natural resources district over a hike-bike trail. The fight boils down to a disagreement over who should pay for fencing to separate the farmer’s land from the Steamboat Trace Trail. Otoe County farmer Bob Trail said he expected the Nemaha Natural Resources District to pay for the fence. NRD officials say they couldn’t do that for one farmer and not other landowners.
The fence fight gained urgency in April, after Nebraska City cyclist Chad Larson found the trail blocked. Larson hit his brakes about halfway down the trail, near the Nemaha County line, just before hitting a fence that straddled the trail. Larson emailed a photograph of the fence to the NRD, warning that a cyclist could get injured. “It was hard to see,” Larson said. “There was no warning.”

