Logging The Past

Lewis and Clark

Trail Advocates for preserving the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s historic trail across the Bitterroot Mountains walked away reassured after a recent meeting with Plum Creek Timber Co.

They also left with a commitment from Plum Creek’s top regional official that logging crews would bypass the area for at least several months while a campaign is pursued to buy an 80-acre parcel that includes part of the trail.

Members of the Idaho Governor’s Committee on the Lewis and Clark Trail traveled to Lolo Pass along the Idaho-Montana border to see a Plum Creek logging project along Glade Creek. The Lewis and Clark Expedition camped along the stream Sept. 13, 1805, during its arduous crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains.

Committee members learned of the logging shortly after it began in early September.

Committee member and state Treasurer Lydia Justice Edwards gave a modest sense of assurance, saying, “(Plum Creek) already has some protections in place. They were doing everything they could to preserve it while logging.”

, DataTimes