Campgrounds prepare to open Memorial Day weekend

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Ranger District staff is working hard to reopen developed campgrounds by Memorial Day weekend or shortly after depending on current conditions. Campgrounds and rental facilities across the Lolo National Forest will begin a phased reopening on May 13 based on seasonal availability and facility conditions. Until then, developed campgrounds and rentals remain temporarily closed.

"The number one priority for the [Seeley Lake Ranger] District from now until Memorial Day is to get the campgrounds cleaned and ready to open," said Quinn Carver, Seeley Lake District Ranger.

Due to COVID-19, the District firefighters, trail and developed recreation staff has been broken into modules that are dispersed in housing across the District. Carver said this will help the District maintain a viable workforce and firefighting capacity. If one of the staff contracts the coronavirus, the entire module will be isolated, limiting the number of close contacts.

The District will operate using a weekly Incident Action Plan and the various modules will be assigned work accordingly.

"All we have is work and people," said Carver noting that the lines between the different departments are now blurred. "It doesn't matter if you are wearing fire boots or working in the rec shop, we are all Forest Service employees and we can all do any of this work."

Campground hosts will be required to self-isolate at their campsite if they are coming from out of state to comply with the statewide 14-day quarantine requirement. The District is also still trying to figure out how to meet COVID-19 sanitation requirements for the vault toilets in the campgrounds.

Those with existing cabin rental and lookout reservations through Recreation.gov will be notified via email and/or text message if there are any changes. Double Arrow Lookout will be available to rent. However since the trail crew will be operating out of the Monture Cabin, that will not be available to rent until this winter.

Those utilizing rentals and lookouts are reminded that they will not be cleaned in between use. As in previous years, it is up to the individual renters to bring their own cleaning supplies and to clean before and after use of the site.

Across the rest of the Lolo National Forest, other recreation areas and campgrounds may not be immediately open and available for use. Expect forest closures and modified operations to happen on a case-by-case basis.

Trails and trailheads remain open. The Forest asks the public to avoid congregating at trailheads and/or parking areas and refrain from gathering in groups of 10 or more. They also encourage people to review current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with local and state guidelines for social distancing and cloth face coverings.

"We are looking forward to opening these sites for public use and enjoyment. Camping and recreating on the Lolo National Forest is an activity individuals and families look forward to experiencing every summer," said Carolyn Upton, Lolo National Forest Supervisor. "While we understand there may be some excitement from the public to return to their favorite recreation areas, please continue to follow local, state and federal guidelines on staying safe."

For information on the projected recreation site opening dates by District, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/lolo/, call the Ranger Station or follow the Lolo National Forest on social media outlets.