Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest to
Seek State Grants
WISDOM, MONT., June 3,
2005 - The Forest
Service plans to apply for
state trail money for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest's
Wisdom, Wise River, and Butte districts.
The funds are available
through the "Off-Highway Vehicle and Recreation
Trails Grant Program," administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife &
Parks and generated by gasoline taxes.
One grant of just over
$11,000 would fund an "ATV ranger" who would
patrol parts of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in the Wisdom
area. A grant last year funded this work and the current
application would continue the program.
A second grant of $10,000
would fund an "ATV ranger" for the Wise River
and Butte districts.
The rangers would tell ATV
riders about safety, rules, and recreation
opportunities; check feed and hay to be sure it's weed free; do trail
maintenance and law enforcement; post signs; and patrol the forest
boundary.
The rangers would work
from May through hunting season.
For more information, call
Patti Johnston, at the Forest Service office
in Wisdom, at (406) 689-3243, or John Ericson, at the Wise River
office, at (406) 832-3178.
Comments on the grant
proposals are needed by June 20.
