Swan Run challenge frivolous

The Flathead National Forest should pull out all the stops to ensure that the Swan Crest 100-Mile Run goes on as planned, making clear to Keith Hammer and his group, the Swan View Coalition, that their opposition to the event is frivolous.

In correspondence with the Forest Service, Mr. Hammer has gone to embarrassing lengths to justify why the race should not be permitted, most recently threatening to sue if it is.

He believes 50 people jogging and walking on “sensitive roadless areas, proposed wilderness areas and threatened grizzly bear habitat” amounts to “high-intensity human uses not allowed under the Flathead Forest Plan.”

Furthermore, he claims that the event will “displace grizzly bears.”

Those claims are patently ridiculous. An organized event involving 50 people once a year will have an infinitesimal impact on grizzly bears and the fragile Swan Crest environment.

On any given sunny summer day, the Jewel Basin parking lot and other trailheads on the Swan Mountain Range are filled with cars and many trails are swarming with people. Why, every weekend, Mr. Hammer himself leads small groups on hikes in the Swan Range.

How 50 runners, spread out over 100 miles, pose unacceptable environmental threats and forest plan violations is hard to fathom, and we bet it will be hard for any judge to swallow, too.

Mr. Hammer raises concerns that the run sets a precedent that could pave the way for future “commercial” group events on the Swan Crest that may attract larger numbers of people. The Forest Service can manage for events as they come, on their own merits.  In this case, run organizers can demonstrate that rather than being a profiteering commercial event, proceeds will go to the Montana Conservation Corps for trail maintenance projects on the Swan Range.

When it comes to precedent, the tables can be turned: The public should be concerned about what might happen if Mr. Hammer succeeds in stopping the event.

What other uses might be deemed inappropriate? Will he seek a ban on horses on national forest lands? Will daily use limits be applied in places like the Jewel Basin, similar to the limited permits that are issued for floating some Montana rivers?

Mr. Hammer criticizes the Forest Service for not encouraging an earlier review of the event. The event organizers did not submit their application for a special-use permit until mid-May, but it is not the Forest Service’s job to prod along groups that seek permits.

Having more than 2 1/2 months to review the application before the July 29-31 event should be more than adequate.

Mr. Hammer believes it is not, because he thinks the event requires an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act.

On the contrary, we contend that subjecting this event to an environmental assessment amounts to a waste of Forest Service staff time and taxpayer dollars. By all means, the Swan Lake District Ranger should take public comment on the proposal and make a swift decision approving the special use permit.

Whatever you think of environmental activism in general, Mr. Hammer and the Swan View Coalition have clearly gone too far this time.