Bitterroot Star

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Local club tackles trail clearing along Coyote Coulee

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BRBCH member Bob Driggers and students from the Corvallis Classroom Without Walls look on as BRBCH member Max Stoppal wrestles a piece of a fallen tree out of the way before the new bridge planking could be installed. Michael Howell photo.
BRBCH member Bob Driggers and students from the Corvallis Classroom Without Walls look on as BRBCH member Max Stoppal wrestles a piece of a fallen tree out of the way before the new bridge planking could be installed. Michael Howell photo.

By Michael Howell

With over 1,600 miles of trail on the Bitterroot National Forest to take care of, the U.S. Forest Service often accepts help in doing basic maintenance of the trail system. This was the case last week when it came to clearing up Coyote Coulee Trail #127 on the Darby Ranger District. Coyote Coulee is a popular hiking and horseback riding area located up Lost Horse Road south of Hamilton. The trail system provides the novice rider (both horse and bicycle) and hikers with a relatively easy trail that is close to Highway 93 and accessible most of the year. As a result it gets a lot of use.
The Bitter Root Back Country Horsemen (BRBCH) was instrumental in getting this trail, and many others, established on the Bitterroot National Forest and has always been dedicated to helping maintain them. The club’s goal is to ensure that stock users can continue to access backcountry and wilderness trails. The club annually contributes over 600 personal hours and 425 stock hours on projects, most on the National Forest, that create significant benefits for all trail users and for the natural resources.
On Friday, May 15, BRBCH members did just that on Coyote Coulee Trail #127. This time they also had help from the Corvallis School District’s Classroom Without Walls (CWW). Instructor Alli Neils-Lemone and students Mollie DuBose and Teran Koerner turned out to help in the replacement of a pedestrian footbridge over the creek that had been damaged by falling timber.
Neils-Lemone said that she was out walking the trail and saw that the bridge had been wiped out. She thought it would be a good project for her students in the CWW and brought it up to forest officials. The CWW has done trail projects before. Although the activities of the CWW are designed mainly to get the students out of the classroom and involve them in outdoor experiences that can teach them about nature and natural resources management, Neils-Lemone likes the activities to have a purpose and accomplish something worthwhile. The bridge replacement project was a perfect fit.

Classroom Without Walls instructor Alli Neils-Lemone (in the lead) helps shoulder the load as she and students Mollie DuBose and Teran Koerner carry in some timber beams that were used in the replacement of a pedestrian footbridge over the creek that had been damaged by falling timber. Michael Howell photo.
Classroom Without Walls instructor Alli Neils-Lemone (in the lead) helps shoulder the load as she and students Mollie DuBose and Teran Koerner carry in some timber beams that were used in the replacement of a pedestrian footbridge over the creek that had been damaged by falling timber. Michael Howell photo.

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