The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Coeur d’Alene Field Office has allocated $5,500 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to rehabilitate a 1.5-mile portion of the Twin Crags Trail in the northeastern part of the Crystal Lake Wilderness Study Area (WSA), near St. Maries, Idaho. The trail segment runs through northeastern Benewah County and southeastern Kootenai County.

 

The BLM resource management plan for the area designates the trail as a single-track route, open to motorcycles and snowmobiles. In recent years, unauthorized users had widened the trail, cutting trees and other vegetation and even excavating, cutting and filling a second track so the trail would be passable for ATVs. Over a period of four work-days in late July, a three-person BLM team effectively blocked ATV access to the trail by placing width-limiting barriers and installing signage along the route clearly specifying that it is closed to off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The trail remains passable for hikers, snowmobilers, motorcyclists, and equestrians.

 

“We’ve been concerned about the effects of unauthorized use of the Twin Crags Trail for a while,” said BLM Coeur d’Alene District Manager Gary Cooper, “so, we’re pleased to take the opportunity Recovery Act funding presents to restore this trail segment to its authorized condition.”

 

The Crystal Creek WSA was identified as having wilderness characteristics in the 1980 Idaho Wilderness Inventory. Until Congress acts to either designate a WSA as Wilderness or release the lands for multiple use, the BLM is required to manage a WSA to prevent impairment of the area’s wilderness characteristics. In the case  of the Twin Crags Trail, erosion and other deterioration caused by unauthorized trail use threatened wilderness values. In 2008, BLM law enforcement, recreation, and cultural resources staff determined that the impacts of the unauthorized ATV use were unacceptable. 

 

Cooper said the rehabilitation completed with ARRA funding will stabilize lands along the trail segment and help preserve resources recognized in the wilderness inventory. Signs will improve public awareness and increase visitor compliance with travel restrictions designed to protect wilderness characteristics, he added. 

 

The BLM cooperated closely with the owner of private land adjacent to the WSA through which a portion of the trail runs. The landowner recently installed additional trail access controls south of the portion on the WSA in Reeds Gulch. The combined efforts effectively block ATV passage onto the trail from both primary access points.

BLM Idaho will receive $14 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The money will fund more than 40 projects on public lands across Idaho, including 11 at BLM sites in the Coeur d’Alene Field Office. The funds are being directed to opportunities such as expanding the BLM’s capacity to authorize renewable energy development on public lands, habitat restoration, and addressing deferred maintenance needs. Funding is also included for reducing the threat and potential severity of catastrophic wildland fire. Overall, the Department of Interior will invest more than $3 billion through President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan, with $305 million allocated to the BLM nationally.

 

Follow the progress of each Recovery Act project on http://www.recovery.gov and on http://recovery.doi.gov .