Island Unit appeal withdrawn

An agreement to work collaboratively with the Forest Service to solve some of the issues Blacktail Road residents have with the Island Unit Trail Management Plan caused Adam Rissien and Leslie Gray to withdraw their appeal to the decision last Friday.

“It wasn’t a total solution,” Rissien said. “But I think that the collaborative group that the Forest Service has agreed to facilitate, depending on participation of course, would help address a lot of the concerns that residents have.”

Andrew Johnson of the Swan Lake Ranger District said the Forest Service made some concessions. Johnson said the Forest Service agreed to drop one short segment of road from the project that is directly adjacent to private land. Dropping that segment of road from the management plan was key to Rissien and Gray.

The project to develop some of the motorized trails on the unit will go forward in two phases.

First the Truman Creek area will be developed and the second phase will be the Kerr Mountain portion. This will allow any interested parties to have the ability to give input on the project as it progresses.

Blacktail’s Island Unit is 46,000 acres that stretches from just above Lakeside, northwest to outside of Kila and southeast almost to Lake Mary Ronan.

The decision made at the end of June authorized 2.98 miles of new motorized trail construction and makes use of about 38.62 miles of existing National Forest System roads and trails. Including the existing Blacktail Wild Bill Off-Highway Vehicle Trail, motorized trails will total 51.93 miles.

Non-motorized trail additions include a total of 11.46 miles of new single-track trail that stretches along the north end of the Island Unit and would eventually connect a Lakeside to Blacktail trail with the Foy’s to Blacktail trail.

The Forest Service also agreed to help implement dust abatement along Blacktail Road and increase law enforcement on the Island Unit. Those were also important components to Rissien and Gray.

“With the withdrawal of their appeal, the project can move forward immediately,” Johnson said.