BRETT FRENCH | bfrench@billingsgazette.com
With access to public lands top of mind for Montanans recently, the Bureau of Land Management announced a newly constructed parking area west of Belfry that provides a jumping off point to 6,400 acres of federal land.
“This has had very limited use, and I think that’s one of the other top priorities of this project is that it opened up more opportunity for people,” said Jenny Alexander, recreation planner for the BLM’s Billings Field Office.
The parking area is located in Carbon County about 2 miles west of Belfry on Highway 308, which runs along Bear Creek back to the town of Bearcreek and on to Red Lodge, a popular route for motorcyclists.
The Beartooth Backcountry Horsemen suggested the parking area since there was no safe place previously for vehicles to pull off the highway. The group also volunteered labor to install a gate. The Montana Conservation Corps built an information kiosk at the trailhead. Motorized access is not currently allowed on the land, which is a grazing allotment.
“When the public comes to us with something, because I feel like that’s my job is we’re here managing public lands, and whatever we can do, when we can, bring in the public voice and make implementation happen on the ground,” Alexander said. “I feel like it’s a win-win.”
Backcountry Horsemen board member Scott Fluer, who lives nearby, said the Beartooth Mountain foothills terrain is covered mostly with sagebrush and pine. Because the area gets little moisture in the rain shadow of the nearby mountains, it’s a good place to horseback ride when other areas are wet and muddy, he added.
The landscape is home to mule deer, grouse and “other critters,” Fluer said, with the occasional grizzly bear probably passing through. Consequently, despite the prairie appearance of the terrain, hikers and horseback riders are advised to carry bear spray.
The lands are in Hunting District 502 and border the expansive Sunlight Ranch Co. to the west. Although the onX online mapping program shows another road accessing the BLM to the north, Alexander said that route travels across private land before reaching the BLM acreage and is posted with no trespassing signs.
To the south of Highway 308 is another large grouping of BLM land in Hunting District 555. It’s accessible via a state section along Highway 308. OnX also shows Wolf Creek Road accessing the property to the south.
No trails currently exist on the now more easily accessible BLM lands, but that’s something Alexander is looking forward to working on.
“I’m really looking forward to getting out there and seeing a little bit more of what we have and figuring out where the best spot would be to put a trail in there,” she said. “That’s a rec planner’s dream to have a blank slate and go explore a little bit and see what we can make of it for the public.”
She envisions a large loop trail to start, with more to come as money or grants become available. She encouraged user groups to contact her if they have ideas. For example, the BLM worked with Pedal United to plan trails at the Acton Recreation Area north of Billings. The Montana Trail Vehicle Riders Association was awarded a grant from Montana State Parks that paid for recent maintenance to Sykes and Burnt Timber UTV trails in the nearby Pryor Mountains.
Unfortunately, right now the BLM’s recreation budget is slim, with dollars falling compared to last year, Alexander said.
“The budget in general for specific recreation dollars was minimal,” she said.
“I think the biggest challenge for right now is just that we are pretty limited on staff and funding, and so we just have to prioritize it as it comes through,” Alexander added.
The Billings Field Office has one more recreation planner and two interns to help this summer, but no park rangers or seasonal workers who have provided help in the past. That makes it even more important for public land users to police their own and to be good stewards by leaving no trace.
Despite the decline in recreation funding, visitation continues to climb about 3% a year to BLM sites in the Billings region, Alexander said. That’s in the wake of a 25% jump following the pandemic.
Fluer said his group is “all about public access” with a mission statement that also promotes perpetual use of horses and assisting government agencies. So the Belfry project ticked a lot of boxes the horsemen have on their checklist. And now, more horseback riders, hikers and hunters will benefit.
