Gated Forest roads help wildlife

In the North Fork News column of March 7, Larry Wilson wrote that search and rescue (SAR) training has been “limited in recent years due to Forest Service closure of most public lands in the area.” Unless the Forest Service has been closing all access to large blocks of public lands, this statement is a gross distortion of facts.

Flathead National Forest roads that are closed to motorized vehicles do not prevent public access. Larry and the rest of the public can snowshoe, ski, walk or ride horseback on every road on the forest, as well as all the areas surrounding those roads. The only areas closed to public access on the Forest are active logging sites or other localized, brief closures.

Larry and other members of the North Fork SAR team deserve credit for their volunteer efforts to prepare for this service to outdoor enthusiasts. But complaining about road closures is misguided. If Forest roads are closed to snowmobiles and ATVs used by the SAR team, then they are also closed to those who might otherwise become subject to SAR operations.

The need of SAR members to access closed roads by motorized vehicles is mitigated by the fact that no other motorized vehicles will be using them, unless they do so illegally. Besides training for SAR on motorized vehicles, they should consider non-motorized training. If they want to be prepared to search for skiers, snowshoers or hikers, they need to practice using non-motorized travel.

Maintaining existing roads and building more roads on the Forest would require the expenditure of millions of additional tax-payer dollars. Instead of complaining about road closures, residents and other users of the North Fork should be thankful for the remaining non-motorized areas.

Hunters especially should appreciate that big game populations in the North Fork are largely the result of the Forest roads that are closed to motorized vehicles and other adjoining roadless areas. Research since the elk-logging roads studies at the University of Montana during the 1970s and 1980s, and the Elk Vulnerability Symposium of 1990, has consistently found that non-motorized areas are critical to elk security and persistence.

Contrary to pronouncements from politicians and misinformed hunters, roads do not improve wildlife habitat, they destroy it. Research has also established the importance of areas of non-motorized use to elk hunter success. Most successful elk hunters know the value of these areas for providing quality hunting opportunities. Sure, road hunters can get lucky, but the likelihood of a successful hunt is greater in areas of non-motorized use.

The wildlands of the North Fork won’t be improved by more roads or motorized access.

Steve Gniadek lives in Columbia Falls.