Madison County commissioners asked the BLM to consider reopening a ridgeline road known as the "stock driveway," which passes through the Axolotl Lakes Wilderness Study Area about five miles south of Virginia City. Commissioners said area residents want a direct route from Virginia City to the Gravelly Mountains.
Environmental groups, including the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, are opposing any plans to reopen the road, arguing that allowing vehicles back in to the area could jeopardize the 8,000-acre wilderness study area.
"They can't manage it as both an off-road playground and a wilderness study area, and right now they're mandated to manage it as a wilderness area," said Tim Stevens, spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.
Madison County commissioners said Virginia City residents originally asked that another road _ the Bachelor Gulch road _ be reopened. Bachelor Gulch road was closed in 1982 because of severe erosion and because it passes close to wetlands.
Instead, commissioners and the BLM agreed to consider reopening the stock driveway, which was closed in 1990 when the wilderness study area was designated
Rick Waldrup, recreation manager for the BLM's Dillon office, said area residents have complained about not having a direct route to the Gravelly Mountains.
"Rather than accessing that part of the Gravellys from their back yard, they're forced to drive around and come back to within a few miles of where they started," Waldrup said.
Waldrup said the agency received about 200 public comments on the proposal, most of which opposed the BLM plan.
Stevens said Monday that he has talked with BLM officials about the plan and understands that they are attempting to address concerns of area residents about access to the mountains.
"They feel like they need to listen to what the county and the residents have to say, which is acceptable, obviously," Stevens said. "But at the same time, they have a legal duty to uphold and protect the wilderness study area."
The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks uses one of the alpine lakes in the area as a home for endangered arctic grayling, which are milked for their eggs that are then raised in a hatchery.
Although the agency does not necessarily oppose the BLM plan, it has some concerns, said Pat Flowers, a regional manager.
Flowers wrote that more people using the area could introduce disease, or lead to illegal stocking of other fish species or overfishing of the lake.
However, FWP also believes the road could provide better hunting access to the northern Gravelly Mountains, Flowers said.
Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.gomontana.com
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