Hello quiet travelers,
Phil Knight here. Welcome to Gallatin Trails, wherein I will post observations, photos and other data from the trails and roads of Montana's Gallatin National Forest. The purpose of this blog is to share the information we bring back from the field and to monitor the implementation of the Gallatin's Travel Plan as it is applied on the ground by the Forest Service.
I've been keeping track, with the help of many other people, of the condition of the trail network on the Gallatin since at least 1991. I started keeping organized notes and photos in 2000.
My big concern, which is shared by people across the country, is the growing negative impact of motorized recreation. Proliferating use of off road vehicles fort "recreation" has wreaked havoc on our public lands for far too long. Even here, where there is a huge trail and road network and a lot of wild country and Wilderness, ORVs have caused untold damage. The impacts of these machines has forced the Forest Service to recogize them as one of four major threats to our public land, and to develop travel plans for each segment of public lands, thus attempting to regulate what type of travel is allowed where. The Gallatin was one of the first forests in the nation to release its final travel plan, which they are now starting to actually implement.
This blog will help you understand how the Forest Service creates and implements these plans, whether they are effective at controlling motorized recreation and other forms of travel (like mountain biking), and how you can influence travel plans in your area and elsewhere.
Bookmark this site, and get out on the trails with your camera!

-Phil Knight

With my wife Alaina in Yellowstone



The spectacular Hyalite Peaks in the Gallatin National Forest