Travel Planning: Lewis and Clark National Forest — Jefferson Division: Final Decision

Summary: The Lewis and Clark National Forest recently released a final decision on the Travel Plan for the Little Belt, Castle, and north half of the Crazy Mountains. This Travel Plan decision is important because it determines where motorized vehicles will be allowed and where opportunities exist for a quiet backcountry experience. The appeal period for the decision ends November 24, 2007. Once adopted, the Travel Plan will be in effect for 15-20 years.

The Little Belt, Castle and north half of the Crazy Mountains are spread across a huge landscape covering over one million acres. These Central Montana "island ranges" include 14 inventoried roadless areas and important wildlife habitat. The two largest roadless areas, the Middle Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area (87,000 acres) and the Tenderfoot/Deep Creek roadless area (80,000 acres) have largely remained intact and have been included in past wilderness bills.

The existing trail system, which evolved over the past 100 years, was developed primarily to accommodate logging, mining, livestock, and firefighting activities. But in recent decades, recreation has become a dominant use. Most noticeable is the increasing number of faster, larger, and more powerful motorized vehicles capable of covering ever greater distances. Most forest users recognize that a revision of the outdated 1988 Travel Plan was necessary to protect fisheries and wildlife habitat, prevent spread of noxious weeds, and preserve opportunities to experience quiet and remote settings.

In the Little Belts alone, there are almost 1,200 miles of bladed roads, 436 miles of "high clearance roads" and over 500 miles of trails open to some type of off-road vehicle use. By contrast, only 62 miles are designated as quiet trails! Use is equally lopsided in the other two ranges.

Despite the extensive road system and well established vehicle use, quiet and remote settings still exist in these island ranges and opportunities for high quality hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, snowshoeing, and skiing can be found.

Under the new revised Travel Plan, the miles of travel routes within the forest will continue to be heavily weighted toward motorized vehicles. But in some significant ways, the plan is a big improvement over the 1988 plan. There will be more motor-free trails, many of which are blocked up, and some of the most vulnerable fisheries and wildlife habitat will be better protected.

Winter
The alternative adopted in the new plan is very similar to the negotiated agreement between the Montana Wilderness Association, the Great Falls Cross Country Club, the Montana Snowmobile Association and two Central Montana snowmobile clubs. Under this agreement, most roadless areas are non-motorized, including most of the Middle Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area. Snowmobiles will not be allowed on cross-country ski trails in Deadman and Ranch Creeks and a parallel trail for snowmobilers and skiers is proposed for O'Brien Creek. The Silver Crest ski area will also be expanded and much of Jefferson Creek is designated for snowshoeing. This alternative offered the most protection to the landscape and the best opportunities for a quiet backcountry experience. It also preserved the existing groomed snowmobile trails and most snowmobile play areas. A next step will be to explore options for skiers and snowshoers to better access appropriate backcountry areas.

Summer
The most significant change in the Travel Plan is the creation of several blocks of land where travel is explicitly for non-motorized forms of transportation. The largest blocks include about three-fourths (60,000 acres) of the Middle Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area, most of the Tenderfoot drainage and most of the Deep Creek/Smith River Corridor. Motorized use will also be seasonal in the Pilgrim Creek Roadless Area. Smaller blocks include the Sawmill Roadless Area, a portion of the Hoover Creek area, and much of the north half of the Crazy Mountains. Overall the miles of non-motorized trails will increase from 62 to 573.

The gains in non-motorized activities didn't result in a large loss of motorized routes. Opportunities for motorized recreation abound. About 70 percent of the travel routes within the three mountain ranges will remain open to motorized vehicles and some new trail options will be created. Some roads which are unnecessary or causing resource damage will be closed, but others will be converted to primitive jeep roads or trails, creating more riding opportunities for 4X4s, ATVs and motorcycles. Under the new plan there will still be 900 miles of system roads for all vehicles, 200 miles of primitive jeep roads for 4X4s, ATVs and motorcycles, 90 miles of two track trails for ATVs and motorcycles, 350 miles of single-track trails open to motorcycles, and one landing strip.

As a result of the new plan, the Little Belts, Castles, and to a lesser degree, the North Crazies seem destined to be a sink for much of the motorized recreation on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. At the same time, the new plan represents an important step toward restoring some balance in trail use and it provides an opening for obtaining longer-term protection for some of the best of the last roadless lands in these ranges.

Great Falls - U.S. District Judge Sides With Off-Roaders
U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon ruled that the Lewis and Clark National Forest violated the National Environmental Policy Act when they revised the travel plan for the Little Belts, Castle, and north half of the Crazy Mountains. The Montana Wilderness Association intervened on the side of the Forest Service to defend the plan which was an improvement over the outdated 1988 travel plan. The new plan, which has been in affect for two years, addressed the changes in use which have occurred since 1988 and tried to accommodate what are often incompatible uses, while also protecting wildlife, preserving clean water, and preventing the spread of invasive weeds.

In the near term, the Judge's decision means that the Forest Service will have to reinstate much of the 1988 travel plan until either a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is prepared or the decision is overturned on appeal.

Perhaps the most egregious part of the judge's ruling was the determination that the Forest Service violated the Montana Wilderness Study Act by reducing the mileage of roads and motorized trails in the Middle Fork of the Judith Wilderness Study Area. Judge Haddon interpreted the Act to mean that the Forest Service can't do anything to enhance the wilderness character of the WSA, that is, all roads open in 1977 must be left open until Congress makes a decision to include the Middle Fork of the Judith in the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The ruling would seem to contradict a 2001 decision by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, reaffirming the responsibility of the Forest Service to protect the wilderness character of the Big Snowy WSA, including the authority to reduce the mileage of motorized roads and trails. Moreover, there isn?t anything in the legislative history of the act or in the act itself which obligates the Forest Service to keep all motorized routes that existed in 1977 open today.

As a practical matter, freezing motorized trail miles cripples the ability of the Forest Service to protect the wilderness character of the WSA. In the Middle Fork of the Judith, the Forest Service closed King Creek trail to protect cutthroat trout and now will have to put on hold a process to close the Middle Fork Road where vehicle use is damaging the fishery.

As a result of this decision the Forest Service seemingly has less authority to protect the resources within the WSA than in the rest of the forest. The Montana Wilderness Association will be appealing the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court, where we expect to prevail, but it does represent a setback and will again open up many miles of quiet trails to off-road vehicle use as well as delay much needed restoration work for at least a couple of years.