“We are disappointed that some snowmobile riders are being disrespectful and irresponsible by entering areas that are closed to snowmobile travel,” said Steve Brady, the forest's Swan Lake district ranger.
With nearly 800,000 acres open to the machines on the Flathead, Brady asked sledders to “respect the areas closed to motorized use.”
Still, eight snowmobilers were caught on Feb. 3 while riding in Sondreson Meadows, an area on the western boundary of Glacier National Park. U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers said the group - locals from Columbia Falls and Kalispell - knew they were in a nonmotorized area.
Then, on Feb. 9, nine more snowmobilers were stopped while sledding in the Mission Mountains Wilderness. Again, all were locals - from West Glacier, Kalispell and Lakeside - and all were cited.
The riders could face fines ranging from $200 to as much as $5,000, with additional penalties at the discretion of the court.
According to Brady, free snowmobile-use maps are available at each Forest Service office, and can be found online at www.fs.fed.us/r1/flathead. Riders, he said, are responsible for knowing where they are and how the rules apply.
Last spring, Flathead forest officials announced they would increase patrols to crack down on sledders, and would recommend tougher penalties for those who ride illegally.
That announcement came after a string of violations, including one in which snowmobiler Ryan Roberts was buried under an avalanche for eight hours. Three days after Roberts' near-fatal incident, two more snowmobilers were ticketed in the same area.
“We are recommending stiff penalties on snowmobile travel violations, especially if extensive search-and-rescue efforts are needed and this puts others at risk,” forest official Jimmy DeHerrera said last spring. “This needs to stop.”
Weeks before DeHerrera made those comments, 10 people admitted to riding illegally in an area where two snowmobilers died in 1998 and 2000.
Others caught in the Mission Mountains - closed to machines since 1975 - attempted to flee before being chased down and cited.
This season, forest officials say they have continued monitoring snowmobile incursions, and are asking the public to help them police the millions of mountain acres in western Montana. Anyone with information about illegal riding on the Flathead forest can call (406) 758-5277 or (406) 387-3839.
For those riding legally, safety information about the current snowpack is available at www.glacieravalanche.org.
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