Lolo Motorway lottery to be held

The Clearwater National Forest will soon be accepting lottery applications for permits to travel the 58-mile section of the Lolo Motorway along the route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The “motorway” is a rough forest road that parallels the Lolo Trail, the expedition’s arduous route through the Bitterroot Mountains.

Motorway visitors can see portions of the Native American footpath used by the expedition and even features clearly depicted in the Lewis and Clark journals.

Anticipating increased interest in the route during the expedition’s bicentennial celebration, the Forest Service will spread out visitation by requiring travelers to have a permit from July 15-Sept. 30.

The permits will be required for traveling Road 500 from Grizzly Bear Saddle west to Weitas Butte Road 557.

The application period is Dec. 1-Jan. 31. Application fee is $6.

Unreserved travel dates can be claimed on a first-come-first-served basis beginning April 1.

In 2003, the first year of the program, 130 groups applied for reserved permits and a total of 394 were issued for the season, said Kris Perry, Clearwater National Forest Lewis and Clark Bicentennial programs coordinator.

In 2004, a total of 558 groups secured permits, a 29 percent increase, she said.

Permits are issued to small and large groups in a ratio to allow no more than 100 people a day on the route, she said. A maximum of 780 group permits would be issued for the 78-day season, she said.

“We’re finding that most groups only want to be on the route for one or two days,” Perry said. “Despite what we tell them, most people don’t believe how rough the road is until the get on it and realize they can’t go much faster than 10 mph. It takes a good nine hours to drive the route.”

Camping is allowed in undeveloped campsites and the Forest Service has installed a few portable toilets, she said.

At least two rangers are on the route daily during the permit period, she said. “The point is to protect some important cultural resources that many people want to see,” Perry said.

For travel permit applications and details, call the Lochsa Ranger District in Kooskia, Idaho, (208) 926-4274 or visit the Web at www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater.