Submit your Comments!
The Montana Department of Resources and Conservation (DNRC) is considering a timber salvage sale at Spencer Mountain to harvest downed trees from a 2021 winter blowdown event. The salvage sale is being proposed to take place this summer. The DNRC expects up to a 30-day closure of the Twin Bridges trailhead, Whitefish Trail north loop, and the Freeride Trails – if the sale proceeds as planned. We are hopeful that your public comments could change the State’s plan.
Whitefish Legacy Partners works with the City of Whitefish and Flathead Area Mountain Bikers (FAMB) to develop and maintain recreational trails and amenities at Spencer Mtn. We currently have a 10-year Special Recreational Use Permit and pay over $11,000/year in fees for the public’s right to access these MT School Trust Lands.
On behalf of the community, WLP and FAMB have invested a great deal of money, time, and energy at Spencer to create a free community recreation asset. We ask that you join us in submitting comments requesting that the DNRC include mitigations in the salvage sale to protect and minimize impacts on the recreation infrastructure including trails, trail signs, and built trail features. We are also requesting that they do not close the Twin Bridges trailhead, Whitefish Trail, and Freeride Trails during the apex of summer use, and instead consider delaying the sale until the fall when trail use is less and/or consider allowing public access during the evenings and weekends. Finally, we are concerned about trail user safety during logging operations, increased logging traffic, and increased dust. We support the need to remove the down trees before a bark beetle infestation harms the living trees and we support the DNRC’s objective to generate revenue on behalf of MT schools and universities – we simply want to ask that they also support existing recreation.
Your comments are important!
Comments must be submitted to the DNRC by Monday, June 14.
Email comments to the DNRC addressed directly to project manager Riley Stevenson:
Link to DNRC Public Scoping Notice and Sale Map