Ledger: Looking Back 25 Years - 6/13/1996

It’s finally summer in the valleys of southwest Montana, but it’s still spring or even late winter up in the mountains, the Forest Service reminds area residents. Melting snow and rain have left soils in the higher country saturated, and the Forest Service and leaders of off-road vehicle groups are asking the public for help to prevent damaging this basic natural resource. Debbie Austin, Forest Supervisor, Beaverhead/Deerlodge National Forest urged everyone going into the mountains to take some simple precautions. “First, avoid meadows, especially with vehicles and stock animals . . . Second, avoid roads and trails that are so wet your passing over them makes ruts; lastly, don’t drive off roads and trails to get around snow drifts.” Bret Lawson, president of High Country Trail Riders in Butte, said, “We ask all motorized recreationists to cooperate and use ‘tread lightly’ techniques to reduce effects on resource.”

All the media attention on Montana in recent months because of the arrest of the alleged Unabomber and the standoff with Freemen in Jordan has left more than a few people wondering what impact the coverage will have on Montana’s 1996 tourism season. With the tourist season just starting to swing into high gear, the Travel Montana release vowed to “keep the paid promotion and development efforts going strong” and urged those in the tourist industry to keep spreading positive news about Montana among potential travelers. Among the visitors expected in Montana this summer are film-makers working on a Robert Redford film called “The Horse Whisperer,” according to the travel promotion release. Redford’s last Montana movie, “A River Runs Through It,” based on a story by Montana writer Norman Maclean, won an Academy Award for cinematography and brought a lot of positive attention to Montana, the travel release points out.