Great American Lands Act, grant to fund parks improvements
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests will be implementing 11 improvement projects to Idaho campgrounds and trails including several local sites thanks to funds coming through the Great American Outdoors Act.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will invest $285 million from that act to help national forests and grasslands across the country address critical deferred maintenance and improve transportation and recreation infrastructure, according to a press release.
Some of those improvements include the Priest Lake Deferred Maintenance Reduction Project, which will replace fire rings and picnic tables at some of the busiest recreation sites around Priest Lake and Upper Priest Lake. These include boat-in sites at Bartoo Island, Bottle Bay, Geisinger, Kalispell Island, Navigation, Plowboy, Tule Bay and Trapper.
Other improvements at the Whiskey Rock and Green Bay Campgrounds include a survey and design for improvements and replacement of existing infrastructure at the two sites. The project includes new site layout to meet accessibility requirements, new toilets, fire rings and picnic tables, as well as upgrades to the roads and parking areas.
Additional projects will address maintenance and reconstruction on trails that have not had maintenance in years, according to the release.
Plans for this year include brushing out and clearing more than 68 miles of trails in the Mallard Larkins Pioneer Area and the Upper St. Joe River, as well as trail maintenance and reconstruction on the Canyon Creek Trail 15 and Red Top Trail 102. It will also include the Bussard and Rutledge Trails near Bonners Ferry.
Other improvements include a complete redesign for the Kit Price Campground, located on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River north of Wallace.
The redesign will include the replacement of toilets, fire rings, picnic tables and water holding tanks, improved vehicle access, new shade structures, and chip seal of all road surfaces. The plans will be funded by GAOA funds and a grant from the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.
Another planned project is the resurfacing of the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha Trail that follows the railroad grade of the Milwaukee Railroad from near St. Regis, Mont. to Wallace.
The route includes 10 tunnels and seven trestles and serves roughly 70,000 visitors per year. The project will resurface the 1.6 mile-long St. Paul (Taft) Tunnel and improve the bottom 4.6 miles of the trail.
Also included in the improvement plans is the Shadowy St. Joe and Tin Can Campground Deferred Maintenance Project, which includes a redesign of the Shadowy St. Joe campsite, and improvements to the Tin Can Campgrounds.
Those plans include resurfacing and widening the roads and pull-throughs to better accommodate motor vehicles with trailers, improving accessibility at facilities, replacing fire rings, picnic tables and toilets at campsites, as well as improved water and electrical systems.
Both sites are located along the St. Joe River, east of St. Maries.
Improvements this year include the replacement of outdated toilets on many of the trailheads, campgrounds, boat launches and other recreational sites with new and accessible facilities.
More information on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/ipnf/. More information on the GreaT American Outdoors Act can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa.