Group races to save Blacktail trail system

A local trails group is feeling the pressure as the countdown is on to secure a vital piece of land.

The Foys to Blacktail Trails organization has less than 18 months to raise $2.5 million for a 320-acre piece of property bordering Herron Park.

Pat Young, the group's president, said the land is crucial to secure public access to the trails above Herron Park that lead to Blacktail Mountain.

"This is something that is such a jewel," Young said. "It's so close to our town, and it's used by the whole county. We don't know how we're going to do this, but it's going to get done. I'm totally convinced that it's just too good to let go."

If the 320 acres is developed, the link between Herron Park and Blacktail Mountain essentially disappears. It also is the most heavily-used section of the entire trail system.

Young said her group scored a major breakthrough last year when The Conservation Fund stepped in and purchased the 320-acre parcel. The nonprofit fund works to promote a balanced, non-advocacy, non-membership approach to conservation. Since 1985, the Fund has helped to secure more than six million acres in the United States.

One way The Conservation Fund works is to buy land and then hold it while local organizations raise money to purchase it back from the fund. Foys to Blacktail Trails has until September 2009 to get the money. If the group falls short, The Conservation Fund could sell the property or develop it in some way.

"We have 18 months to secure the key to all of this," Young said. "That's why it's so crucial to get a broad base of contributors. Sometimes people have a

tendency to feel that someone big will bail them out. They think, 'What does my five dollars do?' Everyone's contribution is really important."

Young said that if her group can show a large grass-roots effort to raise money, larger companies may be more willing to jump on board.

One fundraising roadblock for Young is convincing people that the historic trail system is in danger of going away. Currently, none of the trails from Herron Park to Blacktail are closed to the public.

Most of the corridor runs through Plum Creek and F.H. Stoltze land. It also crosses property owned by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service.

One section of the trail west of Herron Park runs through 160 acres of private land owned by John and Myron Chase, but the brothers gave Foys to Blacktail an easement that allows public access.

The Chase family has allowed recreational access to their land for years.

Although the loss of public access isn't an immediate threat, Young said people are beginning to realize the pressure for development in the Flathead Valley, which she hopes translates into public support for the project.

"Our goal is to get every single person interested in the project to make a contribution," Young said. "It's a unique and fabulous project. There are places around the county that have been playgrounds for 100 years that are getting closed off."

Foys to Blacktail Trails formed eight years ago as an organization of concerned citizens who wanted to keep the trails open to the public.

"We realized what was going to happen here and we needed to get active about saving the trails," Young said. "We need to pay for it or it's not going to happen. The trails will close."

Young, who has actively used the trail system for 25 years, believes that she can rally enough hikers, dog walkers, bikers and horseback riders to achieve the goal of $2.5 million in 18 months.

"There are a lot of ways people can give," she said. "Time, money, computer skills. Anything people can do, we can use."

If enough money comes through to purchase the land, Flathead County would take on ownership of the perpetual easements, but the Foys to Blacktail group would help provide volunteers for trail maintenance with help from the Montana Conservation Corps.

"Being able to captivate something I've enjoyed for future generations is extremely important," Young said. "Having a place for people to play is so important for everyone in the valley. It's good for us to be able to get out in the wild and go somewhere. If we can get this done, people 100 years from now will have a place to go."

Foys to Blacktail will host a special event and sale featuring Kyrgyzstan rugs and African baskets April 4-6 at the Bohemian Grange Hall in Whitefish.

For more information, go to www.foystoblacktailtrails.org.

Reporter Michael Richeson may be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at mricheson@dailyinterlake.com