Flathead National Forest eyes big snowmobile use swap
New terrain will open near Big Creek under the new plan, as outlined in this map.
The Forest Service is proposing to close some areas to snowmobile and other over-the-snow vehicle use in the Spotted Bear Ranger District while opening more terrain in the Glacier View and Hungry Horse Ranger Districts.
It will also look to close about 81-plus miles of trails in the North Fork to mechanized use, including bicycles.
The plan comes from the 2018 Forest Plan. But the way the Forest Plan was designed, it’s an umbrella document, while individual projects, like this one, provide on-the-ground details.
All told, the forest proposes to designate about 12,588 acres as open to over-snow vehicle use and close an additional 12,258 acres to over-snow vehicle use. The project would also prohibit public use of mechanized transport and motorized use in recommended wilderness areas. The forest also proposes to amend the land management plan to clarify direction for use of mechanized transport and motorized use in recommended wilderness areas for administrative purposes such as restoration activities and trail maintenance.
The proposal would be an amendment to the 2018 Forest Plan, which designated several new areas as recommended wilderness, which prompted most of the changes.
The over-the-snow closures are primarily in the Spotted Bear District, where 9,063 acres and 2,534 acres in the Sullivan and Upper Tin drainages would be closed. Both are near the Southwest end of the Hungry Horse Reservoir.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service would open terrain up the North Fork and at Marias Pass.
The largest chunk of land is 7,840 acres in the Glacier View District near Canyon and Big Creeks. In addition, 258 acres would open near Chain Lakes and 660 acres near Moose Peak.
At Marias Pass, about 26 acres would open at Elk Calf Mountain, while 1,228 acres would open at the pass itself up to the boundary with the Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest. Another 674 acres would open in the Skyland/Challenge Creek area.
The Forest Service would keep the Marias Pass area open from Dec. 1 to May 14 under the proposal.
The Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest is closed to all motorized use on its side of the pass, as it’s the Badger Two Medicine area.
The Forest is proposing a closure into Puzzle Creek, which has been a controversial place in the past, as some snowmobilers have previously used it to illegally ride in the Badger-Two Medicine.
In addition to Puzzle Creek, about 10 acres in the Alcove-Bunker Creek area would also be closed to over the snow vehicles and another 10 acres in the Jewel Basin would close.
The plan would also close mechanized use on sections of trails in what is now recommended wilderness under the 2018 plan.
In the Java-Bear Creek area, about 1.4 miles on trails 158, 167 and 254 would be closed to mechanized use.
In the Limestone-Dean Ridge area, 8.1 miles of trails 43 and 83 would close to mechanized use and in the Slippery Bill-Puzzle Creek area 4.2 miles would be closed on trails 154, 156 and 159 to mechanized use.
The largest closure comes in the Tuchuck-Whale recommended wilderness area, where 81.1 miles will close to mechanized transport, including trails 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28, 79, 106, 113, 114, 374 and 375. Also, two acres would close to over-the-snow use.
The closures would come because recommended wilderness is largely managed as wilderness. Exceptions are made for administrative use, like using a chainsaw to clear trails, or to cut down trees encroaching on endangered whitebark pine trees.
The environmental assessment and comment submission form are available on the project webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61460. (To submit comments, see the “Get Connected” tab on the webpage’s right side.)
After the 30-day comment period, the Forest will consider public comments, prepare a finding of no significant impact, draft a decision notice, and prepare a land management plan amendment. These will be subject to pre-decisional objection processes.
Please contact Gary Blazejewski at 406-758-5272 or gary.blazejewski@usda.gov with questions.