Suit seeks to scale back offroad use in Pryors

Created by Adam Rissien on February 22, 2010

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 12:00 am

BILLINGS — Conservationists and backcountry horse riders headed to federal court Friday, seeking to stop motorized vehicle use in much of southern Montana’s Pryor Mountains, a popular destination for off-road vehicle users.

Several groups, acting jointly as the Pryors Coalition, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Missoula, challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s 2008 travel plan for the 125-square-mile mountain range.

About 50 miles south of Billings along the Wyoming border, the Pryors rise from a desert-like landscape through a series of rocky canyons and ridgelines that lead to isolated sub-alpine forests and meadows.

Historically, access into the area has largely been unrestricted. In 2008, the Forest Service designated an estimated 124 miles of roads and trails for motorized use.

The suit’s plaintiffs say less than 1 1/2 miles of trails are set aside exclusively for hikers, horse riders or mountain bikers.

“In the far past, it didn’t make that much difference because there wasn’t that much traffic,” said Dick Walton, 67, one of the plaintiffs.

Walton said he’s been hiking and driving off-road in the Pyors since he first came to Montana 44 years ago. But the retired Rocky Mountain College physics professor from Billings says with more people visiting the mountain range, restrictions on motorized vehicles are needed.

The Pryors Coalition wants to set aside up to 50 percent of the mountain range for so-called “quiet recreation.”

Forest Service spokeswoman Marna Daley said the 2008 plan for the Pryors provided some opportunities for non-motorized use, but also recognized the area’s history of relatively open access.

“Part of that is the landscape, the more open landscape up there,” she said. “And given the nature of the landscape, the more rocky, solid soils that occur, you can provide motorized use without some of the environmental concerns you might have in other areas.”

She added that the Forest Service’s Beartooth Ranger District includes other areas with non-motorized access, such as in the Beartooth Mountains, the next range to the west of the Pryors.