Reacting to a ten-fold increase in snowmobile use
since the early 1990s, Lolo National Forest wants to ban
snowmobiles on 140,000 roadless acres of the Bitterroot Crest
straddling the Idaho-Montana border. Applauding the move is John
Gatchell, director of the Montana Wilderness Association. He says
supervisor Chuck Wildes is finally moving to end a longstanding
policy that “snowfall is a highway to anywhere.” The machines make
too much noise and compact the snow. Among other effects, they
roust hibernating wolverines from dens beneath the crust, Gatchell
says. The area is also proposed for wilderness. Fighting the
proposed ban is Alan Brown, president of the Montana Snowmobile
Association. He says it would keep many people from favorite
backcountry lakes accessible only by
snowmobile.
The draft environmental assessment is
on-line at www.fs.fed.us/r1/lolo/main. Send written comments by
Sept. 30 to Supervisor Chuck Wildes at Lolo National Forest,
Building 24A, Fort Missoula, Missoula, MT 59804 (406/329-3750), or
send e-mail including your return postal address to Marsha Hogan at
mailto:mhogan/r1_lolo@fs.fed.edu.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Snowmobilers see red.
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