Trail Users Unhappy About Restrictions

Resource-use advocates had Targhee National Forest Service Superintendent Jerry Reese all but treed as they spent hours condemning proposed restrictions to help grizzly bears.

More than 100 residents crammed into a local restaurant Tuesday to keep the forest open for snowmobiling, logging and Sunday drives on dirt roads.

They said it is their habitat, not that of the bears the government is trying to protect with a new 10-year management plan. The Forest Service is taking input until June 27.

At issue are provisions to close about two-thirds of the 1,400 two-track roads, to confine off-trail driving to 7 percent of the forest instead of the existing 62 percent, and to trim the timber harvest from about 15 million board feet a year to an average of 3.7 million.

Fremont County Commissioner Grant Chandler said he wants a non-binding referendum in Fremont and Teton counties to show if locals support the changes.