Martin's Cove suit nears end

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Attorneys on both sides say they're nearing an agreement on the management of Martin's Cove, a stretch of federal land where more than 100 Mormon handcart settlers died in a blizzard 150 years ago.

Megan Hayes, the Laramie attorney who filed the federal lawsuit, said the judge probably wouldn't need to reschedule a trial date because she was working with attorneys for the U.S. Department of the Interior and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to settle the case.

"It looks like it will be resolved to everybody's satisfaction," said Mike Sullivan, a Casper attorney for the church.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol Statkus, who represents the Interior Department, said she couldn't comment until the settlement is finalized.

"The parties are working on this informal resolution," she said.

Last year, Hayes filed a lawsuit on behalf of four Wyoming residents who argued the Bureau of Land Management should not have entered a 25-year lease with the LDS Church to manage the site, west of Casper. The lawsuit claimed that LDS tour guides at Martin's Cove proselytized to visitors.

Attorneys for the BLM and the church have denied those charges.

The Pony Express, the Oregon Trail, the California Trail and the Mormon Trail all passed through Martin's Cove. In October of 1856, an early blizzard caught a group of Mormon handcart settlers off guard, forcing them to seek shelter in the cove. More than 100 died in the blizzard.

Thousands of Mormon pilgrims visit the site each year, some reenacting the handcart trek in period clothing and pushing full handcarts.

Trial originally was scheduled for March 20, but was postponed when both parties discussed a settlement.