From staff reports | Posted: Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:00 am
Target shooting mess may prompt closure
The Forest Service and BLM are seeking public comments on a proposal to close a portion of the Thunder Basin National Grasslands near Gillette to recreational target shooting.
"This closure is for the safety of the public who use that area to recreate," said David Geer, acting deputy district ranger, Douglas Ranger District, in a press release. "We are also concerned with the destruction of public property. The toilet installed on the west side of Highway 59 has been destroyed. There is virtually no part of it not riddled with bullet holes."
Geer said old TVs, appliances and clay pigeons also litter the landscape.
The closure would apply only to recreational shooting, not hunting, which is regulated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
The closure would affect the Weston area and Little Powder Reservoir among a mix of Forest Service and BLM lands, most on the Spring Creek Unit of the Thunder Basin National Grassland. For a map and detailed explanation of the proposal, and to submit comments, go online to {M7http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/mbr/projects/rec/index.shtml or call the Douglas Ranger District at (307) 358-4690.
Snowmobile parking lot is open
The 2007-2008 Continental Divide Snowmobile map incorrectly identified the Brooks Lake snowmobile parking area near Dubois as closed. With snowmobile season getting under way, the Wyoming Department of Transportation advises snowmobilers that the new Brooks Lake snowmobile parking area on Hwy. 26/287 is open for public use.
Located on the north side of Hwy. 26/287 west of Dubois, the large parking area is just to the east of the Brooks Lake turnoff. "There is plenty of space for vehicles and snowmobile trailers to maneuver around as needed and plenty of room to park," said Dubois resident engineer Lyle Lamb.
The parking area was built to provide snowmobilers with a place to park that is off the highway, increasing safety for the snowmobilers, the traveling public and snowplow drivers.
M.M. Road closed for winter
Last Sunday the BLM closed Muddy Mountain Road for the winter season. The road is the primary access route to the Muddy Mountain Environmental Education Area, two campgrounds and numerous trails. Due to mud and snow, the road is unsafe in the winter for vehicles. However, the Muddy Mountain area is open for snowmobile use on designated state trails.
The road is closed each winter based on weather and road conditions and will reopen next summer.
New year, new licenses
All Wyoming hunting and fishing licenses expire at the end of the year. New 2008 fishing, small game/game bird, trapping licenses and conservation stamps are now on sale, leaving about two weeks for hunters and anglers to obtain licenses before their current ones expire.
Many small game and waterfowl seasons continue into the new year and will require new licenses. However, federal duck stamps and HIP permits are valid through June 2008.