Travel Planning: Gallatin National Forest

Summary: The Travel Plan was released December 8, 2006. The Plan was designed to decide where motorized use is allowed in the Gallatin National Forest, and which areas are reserved for quiet foot and horse travel. On the preservation of wildlife habitat for calving and denning, and on wild trails, this plan is a mixed bag. It rightfully keeps the Lionhead Recommended Wilderness a quiet place. However, it increases motor traffic on the Gallatin Crest (Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area), promising to eliminate this spectacular crown of the Gallatin Range from consideration for Wilderness designation.

Lawsuits in Response to the Travel Plan: In an effort to defend the Gallatin Crest from expanding motor vehicle traffic and effective elimination from wilderness consideration, MWA and other conservation groups are asking a federal court to require the Gallatin National Forest to reconsider the plan’s impacts on historic wilderness character and potential. By law, 148,000 acres in the heart of the Gallatin Range are protected as the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area — designated by Congress in 1977. The law requires the Forest Service to manage the forest “to maintain wilderness character and potential for inclusion in the wilderness system,” a requirement flouted by this travel plan. Conservationists want to see the Forest Service treat the Crest with as much respect and foresight as Congress intends.

MWA supports:

1. Wilderness Recommendation for these areas:
• The Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area
• Lionhead Recommended Wilderness
2. Keep these areas motor-free:
• Bridger Range, west side. Keep North Cottonwood, Sypes Canyon and the “M” trails motor-free. Close Middle Cottonwood, Truman Gulch and Corbly Gulch to motorcycles. Protect wolverine habitat by keeping Ross Pass snowmobile-free. Keep the Sacajawea Saddle and Shafthouse trails motor-free and protect upper slope wolverine denning areas.
• Crazy Mountains. Designate Big Timber, Sweetgrass Creek, Trespass, Cottonwood and Rock Creek trails as motor-free.

The Gallatin National Forest has completed its Travel Management Plan. The plan will make a positive impact on some areas, and a negative impact on others.

MWA has identified four priority areas. The following is a description of our request for the management of each area, and how the Forest Service responded with their travel plan.

• The Hyalite–Porcupine–Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area. Stretching from the Hyalite peaks south of Bozeman all the way to the northern boundary of Yellowstone Park, this area must be kept motor-free to maintain its Wilderness character and its potential for inclusion in the Wilderness system. The Forest Service plan allows unlimited motorcycle and mountain bike use throughout the WSA. It also enlarges the snowmobile “play area” on the WSA and allows snowmobiles to cross the crest of the range for the first time. By permitting far more motorized recreation than existed in 1977, this plan violates the Montana Wilderness Study Act.
• Lionhead area. Recommended for Wilderness designation by the Forest Service, this area would be motor-free in summer in the agency’s proposal. It should be snowmobile-free in winter as well. The Forest Service must clarify the boundaries of the recommended Wilderness. The entire area should be included. The Forest Service will manage the Lionhead as a quiet recreation area.
• Bridger Range. On the west side, North Cottonwood, Sypes Canyon and the “M” trails should be kept motor-free, and Middle Cottonwood, Truman Gulch and Corbly Gulch should be closed to motorcycles as well. Wolverine habitat would be protected by keeping the area north of Ross Pass snowmobile-free. On the east side of the range, the Sacajawea Saddle and Shafthouse trails need to be kept motor-free. Upper slope wolverine denning areas must be protected from snowmobile intrusion and lower-slope noise. The plan for trails basically keeps the status quo, allowing motorcycles on many of the most popular hiking trails in the West Bridgers. Snowmobiles will have a play area up the western slope of the range.
• Crazy Mountains. It’s important to keep the Big Timber and Sweetgrass Creek trails free of motorized use in both summer and winter, as proposed. Trespass, Cottonwood and Rock Creek trails should be designated motor-free during both summer and winter seasons. Some popular hiking trails will accommodate ATV’s, other motorcycles but not ATV’s, and some neither. The plan sets aside a special area for snowmobile high-marking.

Read our newsletter article (page 8 of our Winter 2007 Newsletter) “The Gallatin’s Fate: Blue Smoke in the High Country”