Won 2012 Coalition for Recreational Trails Award in the Maintenance and Rehabilitation Category

The BLM’s Challis Field Office, in partnership with the Great Basin Institute and Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, won the 2012 Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) award in the Maintenance and Rehabilitation Category for the Lombard Trail project. The CRT is a national organization representing the nation’s major trail interests. Since 1992, CRT has been working to build awareness and understanding of the recreational trail program, to support its implementation and to help ensure that it receives adequate funding. The awards are part of the coalition’s ongoing efforts to promote and celebrate this highly successful program.

Bayhorse, near Challis, is an old mining town that was converted to a park and ATV trailhead.

Award Ceremony in Washington D.C. June 5, 2012

The awards ceremony will be held in Washington D.C. on June 5. “We are very pleased that this project is receiving national attention,” said Jeff Christenson, former Challis field office recreation planner. “Our partners have been dedicated to the success of this trail system and this award recognizes them for all their hard work and effort.” The 7.5-mile long Lombard Trail begins at the Land of the Yankee Fork Interpretive Center, winding up and around Blue Mountain, and enters land managed by the United States Forest Service.

Along the way the trail provides outstanding views of the Lost River Range, the Salmon River Basin, and skirts an area of critical environmental concern, managed for bighorn sheep habitat. Partners developed and placed interpretive signs along the trail providing riders with an opportunity to learn about the local area. Signs teach visitors about geology and bighorn sheep, as well as how to minimize trail-related impacts to the species and habitat.

Cooperative Effort

This cooperative project allowed BLM to convert a network of user-created motorcycle trails and jeep roads into a designated all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail linking the town of Challis, Idaho to the Bayhorse townsite. The ghost town of Bayhorse was converted into a history park and off-highway vehicle (OHV) trailhead by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. “The project was truly a cooperative effort between federal, state, and non-profit entities,” said Christenson. Interpretive material, trail layout, design, and construction were provided by the BLM. The grant for funding was written and administered by the Great Basin Institute. The Department of Parks and Recreation awarded and managed the funding and also provided expertise and route maintenance once the trail was constructed. The Great Basin Institute provided youth crews to rehabilitate the trailhead area and staff specialists to design the interpretive panels and oversee project implementation.

Source:  Idaho BLM Newsletter, May issue, page 12

Reminder – Ride the Bayhorse Event

Ride The Bayhorse ATV event in Challis, Idaho. The ATV event will be held the 3rd weekend in August. That will be August 17, 18 and 19.  Click on link for more information.  http://boiseatvtrailriders.org/whats-new/local-news/invitation-bay-horse/