City, cyclists look to expand trails, recreation here

Both the private and public sector are working on creating greater recreational opportunities for Columbia Falls in the future. On the public side, the Columbia Falls City Council Tuesday night gave city manager Susan Nicosia the OK to apply for the Trust for Public Land’s Community Land and Water Intermountain West Pilot Program.

The new program helps communities create formal plans for voluntary open space, trail planning, community engagement and planning for parks and trails while protecting natural resources like watersheds and other unique areas.

The Trust recently helped the city of Whitefish create a large conservation easement on F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. land in the Haskill Basin, in cooperation with the company, the city and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The Trust is also involved in a larger easement on Stoltze lands in the Trumbull Creek area, just east of the city limits.

The program is a competitive process, but Columbia Falls is a favorable location, Nicosia noted, because the Flathead River runs through it and its close to public lands.

The Trust is also familiar with the city and its surrounding area, having worked in the valley before. Director Dick Dolan said the city should know whether it was selected in the next several weeks.

A trail program, for example, could dovetail nicely into work a group of mountain bike enthusiasts are working on to create or enhance mountain bike trails on Forest Service lands north of the city in the Cedar Creek area.

The mountain bike group has had informal talks with the Forest Service, but is encouraged by the agency’s initial enthusiasm. Member Sam Kavanagh said the bike group hopes to formally join the Gateway to Glacier Trail group next month.

The Gateway to Glacier Trail group spearheaded the effort to build a bike path from Hungry Horse to West Glacier. The last leg from Coram to West Glacier was completed this fall, using a blend of state, federal and private funding.

The bike group would like to eventually have trails that would tie into the Whitefish Legacy Trail Project. If it comes to fruition, a mountain biker could conceivably ride from Columbia Falls to Whitefish through the backcountry of the Whitefish Range.

The group is also looking at the possibility of bike access to Teakettle Mountain.

In addition, there’s also hope that some sort of conservation easement can be worked out with the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. on lands it owns east of the Flathead River.

Those lands are too wet for development, but are valuable wildlife habitat and bikers are also hoping for a backcountry trail on those lands that would tie into the Gateway to Glacier Trail.

If that comes to fruition, a bicyclist could travel from Columbia Falls to Glacier National Park completely by bike path, provided the Montana Department of Transportation widens U.S. Highway 2 through the Bad Rock Canyon. MDT has looked at the project, but hasn’t put a timetable on it yet.

Next summer, MDT is going to replace the bridge over the South Fork of the Flathead. The new bridge will have a bike-pedestrian walkway.