Bozeman News

Current Status of the Gallatin National Forest Travel Plan

Hyalite Canyon Access Update

By Alison Grey, 12-17-07

This is the first winter that the revised Gallatin National Forest Travel Plan is in implementation. After a contentious year filled with a number meetings and negotiations regarding winter access to the area between the Forest Service and local advocacy groups led by skiers and ice-climbers, the Gallatin National Forest Service has begun work on the first phases of the plan.

Today, if you drive up Hyalite Canyon, you might be wondering why the road hasn’t been plowed and when will that happen? Where are the guardrails? Has work begun on other road improvements and safety features? Where are the educational signs to educate users on access and travel? Where’s all the money coming from to fund this, and what happens if it dries up?

The Travel Plan is legally in place, but its implementation is in the beginning of a multi-year, multi-phase process, with a number of factors, including weather and funding, impacting the timeliness of its implementation. And, with two pending lawsuits challenging the plan, it could potentially face even further roadblocks or changes.

“Hyalite is the number one priority for the Forest Service from the Travel Plan standpoint, and we are concentrating our resources and personnel on implementing it,” said José Castro, district ranger for the Bozeman District Office. “However, folks will have to be patient. This is a big plan, and we are in the first of several phases that will take years to complete.”

While Castro is careful to add plenty of, “We hope to,” “Perhaps as early as,” and “It should…,” into his answers regarding the timeliness of implementing the plan, he seems confident that work on it is well underway and will be successfully completed in the coming years.

Here is an update on what is going on now at Hyalite Canyon and what we can expect to see in the coming year:

Plowing and Access

Due to a major landslide this summer resulting in significant damage to the roadway, temporarily narrowing it to one-and-a-half lanes instead of two, Hyalite will not be plowed this year, period. 

According to Castro, there is currently a team of Gallatin National Forest Service geologists working to asses the area and make recommendations for fixing the roadway permanently. What they have found so far is that the hillside where the landslide occurred has five or six major faults that could potentially pose further danger in the area, he said.

Based on the findings and recommendations of the geologists, he predicts that work on both the roadway and the hillside, should most likely begin by next summer, with plenty of time for plowing to begin by next winter.

As it stands, the main road will remain unplowed but open to motor vehicle traffic, on main roads only, to the Emerald Lake Trailhead and Grotto Falls Parking Lot as long as conditions allow.

When the road becomes impassable, due to weather conditions, it will be gated for the extent of the season. After this, snowmobiles can continue to travel on the main roads as far as Emerald Lake Trailhead and Grotto Falls parking lot until March 31. The road will be fully gated to all motorized access at the bottom of the canyon by no later than mid-May.

Roadway Construction and Improvements

After the City of Bozeman cited concern about a lack of safety features on the windy and narrow Hyalite Canyon Road, provisions were added to the Travel Plan to look into things like guardrails to help people travel more safely, avoiding the risk of car swerving off the road and into the nearby river.

Castro said that the city has contracted a team of safety engineers to evaluate the road and come up with recommendations (with construction hopefully proceeding this summer, a tentative timeline based upon favorable recommendations) for improvements, which will play a major role in allowing motorized vehicle access, and plowing, next year.

Education and Signage

Castro notes that educating the public about safe travel and installing signs about how and where to go in the area is a priority for the Forest Service and something we should see come to fruition first. According to Castro, signs are in the works, and we could potentially see some of them posted at trailheads and parking lots as early as this week.

Also, earlier this month, the Forest Service released their official Travel Plan Winter Recreation Map, which shows users, from cross-country skiers to motorized vehicles, where they can recreate and the areas that are off-limits. The map is free to the public and Castro recommends that anyone traveling in the area pick one up. The release of the map also makes failure to obey closures and travel restrictions enforceable, he said.

The Forest Service is bringing on a team of Snow Rangers to enforce the area during the busy season. It’s a big area to patrol, but Castro said the Forest Service plans to educate people first with warnings, then with hitting the pocket book with fines, and help folks transition to the new travel rules and regulations.

Other Potential Barriers: Lawsuits and Money

Currently, there are two pending federal lawsuits challenging the Gallatin Travel Management Plan. Citizens for Balanced Use, a public access group, has challenged the plan claiming the new restrictions unfairly restrict motorized travel. On the other side of things, three conservation organizations, The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Montana Wilderness Association and the Wilderness Society, believe that the restrictions have not gone far enough, claiming that snowmobiles should not be allowed in a wilderness study area known as the Gallatin Crest.

While the results of these lawsuits could potentially alter the course of the Travel Plan, currently they have no impact over the implementation of it. It isn’t until if, or when, a ruling or injunction takes place, that the course of the plan could be changed. To his knowledge, as of now, no trial dates have been set in either case, said Castro.

As far as money goes, funding of the Travel Plan will consist of a combination of federal funding and specialized funding like grants. While money is always an issue, resulting in certain projects being postponed, Hyalite is the one of the top priorities for the Forest Service, and will receive funding accordingly. Completing provisions in the Travel Plan shouldn’t be affected by a lack of funding, said Castro.

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