SEELEY LAKE –While National Forest Service roads generally close to wheeled vehicles Dec. 1, due to the lack of snow this year on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, the roads remain open until grooming begins. There will also be temporary road and snowmobile trail closures in place throughout the winter to provide for public safety during logging and fuel treatment activities.
Dec. 1 marks the annual date that Forest Service roads typically transition to over-snow-trails restricting access to motorized, wheeled vehicles. However, District Ranger Quinn Carver has decided since there is currently a lack of snow and no grooming is taking place, the roads do not need to be closed. Likely the designated roads will become snowmobile trails following the next significant snowfall.
The following roads/trails will be temporarily closed during the designated time frames:
• Rice Ridge NFSR 720/ Snowmobile Trail SNO-63.03 temporary closure: This snowmobile trail will be temporarily closed weekdays, Monday-Friday, beginning on Dec. 7 throughout the winter from milepost 0.0 at its junction with Highway 83 to milepost 15.5 for the continuation of winter logging operations. The trail will be open for recreational use on weekends. The closure will be reduced as logging operations progress/complete to allow for winter grooming. Map: https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/riceridgemap_winterclosure_2020.pdf
• Cottonwood Creek Road 477/Snowmobile trail SNO-63.01 (Seeley Lake – Monture) and Kozy Korner Road 9976/SNO-63.13 (Cottonwood – Rich Ranch) temporary closure: Snowmobile trail SNO-63.01 (Seeley Lake – Monture), from milepost 8.8 at its junction with SNO-63.13 to milepost 12.3 at its junction with Road 4385; and SNO-63.13 (Cottonwood – Rich Ranch) from milepost 1.1 to milepost 3.4 will be closed Monday through Friday for winter logging operations. The trails will be open for recreational use on weekends. Map: https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/winterclosure_kozy.pdf
• Placid Creek Road NFSR 349 temporary road closure: Placid Creek Road NFSR 349 from milepost 2.7 to milepost 5.1 will be temporarily closed from Dec. 7 – Dec. 21 for fuels reduction work which is being conducted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) on private lands. Map: https://www.seeleylake.com/home/customer_files/article_documents/placid_closure_2020.pdf
For closure maps and alternative routes please visit here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lolo/alerts-notices or call the Seeley Lake Ranger District at 406-677-2233.
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