Talking about trails in Zortman

Nearly 50 people attended the Little Rockies Recreation Network (LRRN) meeting in Zortman on Saturday afternoon to discuss the final map the group will submit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in July.

Earlier this year, the BLM issued a press release asking citizens for input on a travel management plan "to create a travel logical, sustainable network that meets the increasingly diverse needs of the public, while still maintaining or protecting natural and cultural resources in the planning area." The deadline for comments was the beginning of May, but a BLM press release last week announced that the original 30-day scoping period had been extended to 90-days in order to allow more opportunity for the public to provide their comments.

"Public input is vital for the BLM to know which routes people use and want to keep using and what kind of nature they'd like to see and experience while they're out there," explained Project Lead Kirsten Boyle in the press release.

LRRN President David Pitman explained at the Saturday meeting in Zortman that the group isn't trying to intervene with the BLM, but rather make the government entity aware of what the public would like to see happen with the trails that snake through the Little Rockies in Zortman.

"We want to try to get the BLM to see the public's opinion on what this public land should be used for," said Pitman. "Right now, there are a ton of people who use these trails, and they come up here religiously every holiday weekend to use the trails."

Pitman said the LRRN hopes to work with the BLM to help maintain and contribute to the trail's systems. He said once every 25 years, the BLM is tasked with conducting a study on how to properly manage public lands.

"There are projects going on all over Montana, and in the North Dakota and South Dakota region," Pitman said.

Pittman added that the best-case scenario, as far as the LRRN is concerned, would be LRRN being in charge of maintaining and managing the Little Rockies Trails.

"If they let us manage it and we can get enough members and funding we feel we can manage it properly," he said.

The worst-case scenario would be the BLM shutting down 95-percent of the trail system all together.

"That is one of the four options they have drawn up," Pitman said.

On the LRRN website – at http://www.littlerockiesrecreation.net – the group has linked to a petition to keep the current BLM trail management map, another link to download the Scoping Letter and then a third to download the Scoping Comment form to send to the BLM.

The BLM encourages you to share your ideas for specific routes on public lands in the Little Rockies Travel Management Planning Area. Your knowledge of the roads and trails and types of motorized (including snowmobiles) and non-motorized recreation will help the BLM develop a comprehensive route management plan. A final version of the travel management plan will be a product of public comment and BLM directives. The BLM expects to complete the Little Rockies Travel Management Plan in February 2017.

To get a better understanding on how the process works and what the BLM needs from you, look at the BLM travel management planning page:

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/Recreation/recreation_national/travel_management.html

For more information, to comment or to provide an option for consideration, contact Kirsten Boyle at 406-262-2829, [email protected] or BLM Havre Field Office, 3990 Hwy 2 W., Havre, MT 59501. To have a comment form emailed to you, contact Boyle or the Malta Office front desk at 406-654-5100.

In an effort to help maintain the current trails in the Little Rockies, LRRN has dedicated the month of June as Clean-Up Month in the Little Rockies.

"We are going to hopefully get some garbage bags from BLM," said Tony Bibeau, LRRN board member. "Grab your bags and go."

The next meeting of the LRRN, which is open to the public, will be held in Malta at the Malta VFW on Thursday, May 12 starting at 6 p.m. The LRRN Facebook page can be found at http://www.facebook.com/Little-Rockies-Recreation-Network.