Seeley Lake Trails Project Kicks Off

SEELEY LAKE - For the past two-and-a-half years Clearwater Resource Council (CRC) has been laying the foundation to allow the Seeley Lake community to plan a comprehensive trails system. To begin building on that foundation, CRC formally kicked off the public input phase of the Seeley Lake Trails Project Feb. 25.

CRC Executive Director Cathy Kahnle said during those two-and-a-half years the organization gathered information from Missoula County, other counties, other trails-planning groups, surveys and a number of other sources.

Kahnle said, "There have been a lot of different methodologies used, different groups working together. We were very concerned from the very beginning that we find out what the community really wants. We want to do what's right for this community."

CRC formed an Advisory Council consisting of residents from all aspects of recreation. Snowmobilers, mushers, backcountry and cross-country skiers, mountain bikers, hikers, wilderness advocates, schools, businesses, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riders, the elderly and the alternatively abled all have representation on the Advisory Council.

Because a system-wide trails plan will encompass land under a variety of ownerships, land managers such as the US Forest Service, the Missoula County Planning Office and The Nature Conservancy were asked to become partners and designate a representative to attend Advisory Council meetings. Also partnering with the council were representatives from interested non-profits and other regional groups such as Headwaters Economics and Five Valleys Trust.

A complete list of council members, partners and their representatives is available on the CRC website (crcmt.org) under the Seeley Lake Trails Project Charter in the Trails Project section.

In keeping with CRC's stated desire to make sure the final plan is truly what the community wants, neither CRC nor any of the land managers or partners have voting privileges. Only the community representatives may vote on council decisions and only Seeley Lake residents may vote on the final trail plans.

Because the foundation group was so large and so diverse in their perspective on what kind of trails they wanted, CRC hired professional facilitator Jennifer Arnold of Reciprocity Consulting. Arnold began by offering three training sessions to teach the group how to communicate and interact with each other despite differing viewpoints and develop good community building skills. Through 20-30 person monthly meetings, the group established a charter, a statement of purpose, a vision and a timeline.

Arnold stated the Advisory Council's vision for the project: "When implemented, the trail system is expected to improve community access to healthy, safe, all-season outdoor recreation for all user groups. [It is expected to] enhance visitors' experience and attract more visitors to benefit local businesses and support sustainable economic development to the extent it is desired by the community. [And it is expected to] protect the area's ecosystem and wildlife species."

The council also prepared materials and maps and worked out a survey form designed to elicit information from the Seeley Lake community. The minutes of the Advisory Council's past meetings are all available on the CRC Trails Project website.

The kick-off meeting signaled the beginning of the public process phase of the timeline. Central to this phase is getting as many people as possible to fill out the survey. The survey is available both on the CRC website and in hard-copy form at Double Arrow Lodge, Grizzly Claw Trading Company, Kurt's Polaris, Rovero's Ace Hardware, Optimal Fitness, Seeley Lake Elementary and Seeley-Swan High School.

The council's preference is for people to take the survey online where they will also have access to an interactive map and can pinpoint exactly what established or proposed new trails they want to discuss.

The survey was designed to elicit specific information through check-off or multiple choice questions (e.g., what kind of trail activities do you enjoy? What trail features are important to you?). Other questions are deliberately open-ended to allow participants to comment as they wish. A parallel survey form will be distributed to Seeley Lake businesses. The public comment period will extend to July 17 so that both winter and summer residents and visitors can participate.

The next step will be for the Advisory Council to evaluate all survey data and suggestions, using previously agreed-upon evaluation criteria (see pull out box). That information will then be presented at a public forum meeting to be scheduled in the fall. The focus of the forum will be on the needs of the community - what trails need to be improved or implemented; what needs are currently not being met; what type of economic development is right for Seeley Lake.

Following the forum meeting, Seeley Lake residents will have three days to vote on which ideas they would like to see be part of the final trails system plan.

Arnold explained the process is designed to get all options on the table and see which of those trail proposals have the greatest support and interest from the community. Based on that information, the Advisory Committee will then formulate a comprehensive Seeley Lake Trails System plan.

During the question period following the presentation, a couple of participants wanted to know about similar trails projects in other counties and in particular about the Whitefish Legacy Project.

Points of comparison and contrast were discussed briefly, but Arnold said she considers Seeley Lake's outlook on their project innovative and unique.

Arnold said, "This project is unique in that it is really led by the Advisory Council and supported by CRC. A lot of times agencies or non-profits will lead the effort and it won't really have that community voice at the center."

To a question about financing and maintenance of the trails, Arnold responded, "You will have to do fundraising all along. It's very difficult to get funding for planning processes. But once you start putting trails on the ground there's a fair amount of funding sources out there. That includes funds for both construction and maintenance of the trail."

Arnold added the council's hope is that the group or multiple groups particularly interested in a trail (e.g., biking trail; snowmobile trail) will enter into a partnership agreement with the landowner to share the maintenance responsibilities.

A member of the ATV and motorized usage group commented their organization has money available right now, but no approved project to spend it on. He said, "Having money to get these projects up and maintain them, I don't think that's going to be a problem."

At the formal conclusion of the meeting, instead of everyone leaving right away, most of the participants stayed to inspect the large trail maps posted around the room or to chat with Advisory Council members or affiliate groups that had displays set up.