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Seeley Trails Foundation presents forest-trail plan; committee tables proposal pending agreements and possible scaling back
Summary
The committee heard a presentation on the Seeley Forest Trail proposal and agreed to table the item so Sawyer County forestry staff, the foundation and existing trail organizations can draft MOUs, address maintenance and liability questions, and consider scaling the project down before returning it to the committee.
The Seeley Trails Foundation presented a multi-phase proposal to build a year‑round, multi‑use forest trail near the Double O trailhead. The committee heard the presentation, asked questions about overlapping trail systems, maintenance, liability and staffing, and tabled the proposal pending further coordination among the county, forestry staff and local trail organizations.
Montgomery Mau, president of the Seeley Trails Foundation, described the project objectives as creating an accessible, year-round multi-use trail that uses primarily existing logging roads to minimize new disturbance, highlights county history, supports adaptive-access recreation, and stimulates local tourism. Mau said phase 1 would focus on converting an existing roughly 5-mile groomed winter corridor to year-round use and adding approximately 7 miles of new trail in a loop system based at the Double O trailhead.
Forestry staff raised concerns about trail density, topography and maintenance capacity. “I like the concept of this trail, and I think we could use that. But a lot of the feedback that I've been getting... are concerns over trail density issues,” the forestry representative said, adding that staff resources to maintain additional trails are limited.
Committee members also shared letters expressing concerns about cost‑sharing, liability, who inspects constructed trails, and how multiple organizations would coordinate trail building. The Berkey organization and former trail directors conveyed that the proposal needs additional discussion before approval.
The committee adopted a motion to table the Seeley Forest Trail proposal and to direct county forestry staff, the Seeley Trails Foundation, and relevant trail organizations (including CAMBA and Berkey representatives) to meet and draft memoranda of understanding addressing maintenance, liability, signage, trail crossings, and project scale. Committee members suggested scaling back phase 1 (for example, reducing the initial mileage) as a possible path forward if consensus cannot be reached on the full phase.
The tabling motion passed on a voice vote; the item will return to committee after stakeholders provide the requested MOUs and a revised plan if necessary.
