Trail group welcomes new program coordinator

The Glacier Gateway Trail organization has hired a part-time program coordinator to help the group with outreach and fundraising as it eyes another major trail project near Columbia Falls.

AnneMarie Bowlus, who previously worked for Montana Conservation Corps, the Forest Service and Flathead Area Mountain Bikers, has now joined the trail group.

MCC does thousands of miles of trail work annually on public lands across Montana, so Bowlus is no stranger to making good tread.

Bowlus said her main focus will be fundraising and grant writing for two new projects near Columbia Falls. One is a path that will follow the Flathead River east of Columbia Falls in the proposed Bad Rock Canyon Wildlife Management Area.

The second, and much bigger, project will focus on 28 miles of trails that will run from just north of Columbia Falls to Forest Service lands near Spoon Lake as part of the Crystal Cedar project.

Bowlus said she’ll be spending the next few months writing grants to help cover the cost of the new trail network, which will include improved trailheads and formalized trails for mountain bikers, hikers and horse riders.

Bowlus said she’s looking forward to the challenge.

“I feel lucky to have a well-rounded board,” she said, which includes local engineers and other members with trail and transportation expertise.

If the grantwriting goes well, monies could be had by this summer, she noted, and work could begin on at least some routes. But the overall project is expected to take years.

Bowlus is a hiker, herself.

“I’ve dabbled in mountain biking,” she said.

“We are super excited to have AnnMarie on board to help us build a stronger presence in our community and help execute upcoming projects,”  said board president Jeremiah Martin.

The Gateway group was organized years ago to create a new bike path from Columbia Falls to West Glacier.

The bulk of that trail has been completed, save for a section through the Bad Rock Canyon, which won’t happen until the road through the canyon is improved, a project that is still years away.