County to include trail map in roadless recommendation

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

Gallatin County will send Gov. Brian Schweitzer a letter recommending that no new roads are needed in the county's roadless areas, but will also include a map showing where roads and trails already exist in National Forest lands.

County commissioners voted 2-1 to send the governor the letter and map Tuesday, with Commissioner John Vincent voting against the motion because he felt including the map weighed in on a separate debate about a travel plan for the Gallatin National Forest.

Schweitzer asked commissioners in September for their input to help his office draft a response to federal authorities' query on how Montana wants its federal roadless lands managed.

The governor specifically asked commissioners to limit their recommendations to whether new roads were needed in Gallatin County's roadless areas, and if so, to identify where those roads would be located.

All sides working on the issue agreed that no new roads are needed in the county right now.

In fact, two groups usually opposed on access issues -- Citizens for Balanced Use and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition -- jointly drafted the letter that commissioners will send to Schweitzer.

But at Tuesday's meeting, Kerry White of CBU pushed for amending the letter to include a map his group had put together showing existing trails and roads in the Gallatin National Forest.

CBU has pushed to keep the Gallatin National Forest's trails and roads opened to multiple uses, including motorized access.

White said his group simply wanted to identify what already was on the ground. He noted that the map does not identify existing uses.

GYC, a local environmental group, worries the map could be used as leverage in the travel plan debate. Access issues will be decided by forest managers, spokeswoman Barb Cestero said.

"That's where we would like to leave those discussions," she said.

Commissioners Joe Skinner and Bill Murdock voted to include the map -- after they amended the letter to specifically state that the map doesn't amount to an endorsement or rejection of any travel plan.

Both felt there was no harm done with the amendment, and Murdock said the map will ensure the governor's office can't pull any "shenanigans" with the county's recommendation.

Vincent voted against the motion because he felt it went beyond what the governor had asked them to do.

He said after the meeting he will sign the letter, but he will also submit his own letter asking the governor to get a map distinguishing between trails and roads in the Gallatin National Forest, since the map the county is submitting doesn't do that.

Mike Volesky, natural policy resources director for Schweitzer, said Tuesday that all information is welcome, but the governor's office isn't going to weigh in on travel plans.

Those decisions will be made by U.S. Forest Service officials after input from locals and others, he said.

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