We’ve added another “neighbor” organization to our “Related Links” sidebar: The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.
In their own words, the “Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the trail system and wilderness values in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.” Quite a few folks from the North Fork have taken advantage of the foundation’s good works at one time or another.
The Patagonia company is giving the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation some significant support over the next five years . . .
The outdoor clothing company Patagonia recently pledged its support for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation by sponsoring one trail project per year for the next five years.
Patagonia is the first corporation to make a long-term commitment toward the sponsorship of individual trips, according to the BMWF. The work is critical for keeping trails open for the public who seek solitude in the wilderness, according to the local foundation.
The BMWF fosters wilderness stewardship and works to ensure access to Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex…
It sounds like Glacier Park got the money they wanted and the weather they wanted and are making good progress on trail work . . .
Glacier National Park will have about a $1 million in their budget for trail clearing and trail work this coming season, Park officials said last week. The Park annually spends between $675,000 and $1 million on its 730-plus miles of trails.
Chief ranger Mark Foust said trail work so far this spring has fared much better than last year, when record snowpack remained on the mountains and an extended period of wet, cold weather lasted into early July.
From the Glacier Park weekend update . . .
Park Officials announced the opening of more services and roads for the summer season. Currently, there are over 90 miles of road open within Glacier National Park which access all areas of the park, with more services opening every week. The road into Cutbank Creek opened on Thursday, June 9 and the campground is scheduled to open on June 17. Avalanche Campground and Rising Sun Motor Inn opened on June 10. Saint Mary boat tours also began operation on June 10.
With an unusually heavy snowpack, park officials are striving to set reasonable and safe goals for openings and have announced a few delays. Sperry Chalet will delay opening from July 8 to July 15, due to significant, lingering snowpack. Two Medicine boat trips will delay opening until conditions warrant. Many Glacier, Two Medicine, and Cutbank Campgrounds will open June 17, at the earliest. These dates are based on current conditions and may be adjusted as conditions warrant.
Plowing continues on the Going-to-the-Sun Road (Sun Road). Initial plowing has been complete to the Big Bend, five miles beyond the Loop, on the west side. Crews are encountering drifts between 10 and 20 feet. On the east side, crews are plowing the No Stump Point area, approximately one mile beyond Siyeh Bend. There is no date set for when the upper section of the Sun Road will be cleared for across park travel.
On the west side, there will be a hiker/biker restriction at Packer’s Roost, six miles beyond Avalanche Creek on Saturday, June 11 due to construction…
Related reading: Crews still plowing Going-to-the-Sun Road
According to an article in today’s Missoulian, national forests throughout Montana are scheduled to receive a big pot of stimulus fund money for general improvements to infrastructure.
Flathead National Forest is getting money to fix up a number of cabins — finally — and explicit funding for trails maintenance. Here are the applicable bullet points from the article:
– Trail maintenance and reconstruction in the Flathead, Kootenai and Lolo national forests in partnership with the Student Conservation Association and Montana Conservation Corps in Flathead, Lincoln and Sanders counties, $2.995 million.
– Undertake deferred maintenance projects, including replacing roofs, windows, shutters, appliances, propane heaters and floor coverings, in six cabins in the Flathead National Forest in Flathead County, $186,000.
An article in today’s Missoulian and another in the Daily Inter Lake provide more information on the recently announced allocation of federal stimulus money for Glacier National Park. $15.6 million will go toward renovations at Many Glacier Hotel, $1.5 million is for upgrading comfort stations for proper handicap access and around $400,000 will be used for backcountry trail and campground maintenance.
Glacier Park still needs about a gazillion dollars for work on Going-to-the-Sun Road. Any money for that purpose would be funneled through the Federal Highway Administration. No word on that yet.