Judge OKs extended snowmobile season
A recent ruling from a U.S. District Court in Missoula will allow for extended spring snowmobiling on the Flathead National Forest to continue.
In a Jan. 27 ruling, District Judge Donald Molloy dissolved an injunction he imposed on the forest in June 2008 that prevented the implementation of Forest Plan Amendment 24, which was developed to govern winter recreation access.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a new biological opinion supporting the amendment in March 2009 that Molloy considered in his decision against the Swan View Coalition and Friends of the Wild Swan.
The two groups had sued the forest, largely challenging the extended spring seasons as being harmful to grizzly bears and a violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Molloy found that the new biological opinion for Amendment 24 complies with the Endangered Species Act.
“The available science does not show that snowmobiling affects denned grizzly bears, or that spring snowmobiling in the Flathead National Forest will appreciably reduce the likelihood of the grizzly bears’ survival and recovery,” Molloy wrote.
Under Amendment 24, the general snowmobile season applies to about 800,000 acres of national forest lands through March 31. Four areas, totaling about 52,400 acres, remain open into April and May.
They include the groomed routes in the Canyon Creek area, through April 14; the Sixmile area in the Swan Mountain range, through April 30; the Challenge-Skyland area near Marias Pass, through April 30; and the Lost Johnny area near Hungry Horse Reservoir, through May 31.
“Snowmobilers are encouraged to get a free Flathead National Forest Over-Snow-Vehicle-Use Map to determine where and when snowmobiling is allowed on the forest,” Hungry Horse-Glacier View District Ranger Jimmy DeHerrera said in a news release.
“The maps provide information about routes and groomed trails. The open and closed areas are clearly marked, in addition to information about snowmobile seasons.”
Denise Germann, the forest’s public affairs officer, reminded snowmobilers that the Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Mission Mountain wilderness areas and the Jewel Basin Hiking Area are closed to snowmobiling. She said snowmobile incursions into these areas have been detected this winter.