submitted by Owen Wiese
There has been much interest and use of the Devils Gulch, so I thought that some information about the Devils Gulch would be of interest. The Devils Gulch has been owned by the Wiese Family for more than seventy years. For the beginning years no special use was made of it.
We have three daughters who have all been very caring of the Gulch all their lives. When they were young they went there to play and explore. Now they are all adults and whenever they are home they make sure to walk in the Gulch to see what it looks like now.
There was a road that went through used by anyone who wanted to use it. The road went down through the crossing of the creek (remnants are still visible). That crossing was the only access to the land on the north side of the Gulch. To limit access to that crossing I built what I thought was a sturdy fence where some of the present day walking trails start. That fence was subject to regular efforts to go through. People driving four wheelers, or in the winter snowmobiles, would make regular efforts to go around the Gulch.
One of the reasons for use of the crossing was to access the farmland I farmed north of the gulch. There are many stories that I could relate about bringing loads of hay down the hill, over the crossing and up the other side. There were also times when I grazed cattle on the land north of the Gulch. All of that activity came to a halt when the CRP(Conservation Reserve Program) was offered. The land north of the Gulch was put into CRP and has remained there. It will come out of CRP in 2022. After that, it will be used again for grazing cattle.
About thirty years ago a Womens Organization received a sum of money to build a Visitors Center in the Gulch. It is is there now. Before that organization could get that money we, the owners, had to sign a twenty-five-year lease. We did that with the stipulation that there be no development such as electrical lines and commercial developments. The object of those stipulations was to keep the Gulch as close to its natural state as possible. Those stipulations have some problems for the people who work in the visitors center such as heating the building and having electric lights. The people who work there now have overcome those problems by the use of portable generators. Also it would be difficult to install underground lines because of the rocky soil. We did not want an overhead line installed because it would look out of place and spoil the natural look of the Gulch.
The Gulch is now taken care of by a wonderful group headed by Randy Megard who manages the Visitor Center. He has also laid out and marked several walking trails. Randy also mans the Visitors Center where he answers questions from visitors. He also sells a variety of souvenir Items. The City of Garretson purchases the items and receives the income from the sales. One question that is frequently asked is, Where did Jesse James jump and did he really do it? My answer is, Well, Maybe.
The group of unpaid volunteers who work in the Gulch do a wonderful job of cleaning up areas and removing brush. They have cleared site lines to some areas so visitors have good views of scenic areas. Benches have been installed by the City, in some areas, for resting.
The Gulch is now visited by record numbers of people who walk the various walking trails and climb the rock formations. The Gulch really provides a unique area to visit. Visitors really enjoy climbing on the rocks and walking the trails that are marked and many other areas they can discover.
We are often asked how much do we get paid for the use of the Gulch?
A few years ago we had the Gulch surveyed to learn the exact size. It is twentyeight acres. Two years ago we had a replacement for the fence built. The new fence follows the survey lines. It delineates the boundaries of the park. Visitors to the park are not supposed to cross or go through the fence. Unfortunately, some do. For renting the park we receive enough to pay the taxes. We donate the use of the Gulch to the City of Garretson, for the enjoyment of those who love to touch nature, and talk about it, hopefully to benefit Garretson.
