Trails in recovery zone?

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — U.S. Forest Service officials and groups that want caribou habitat in northern Idaho protected from snowmobiles plan to meet to decide which trails could be reopened for snowmobile enthusiasts.

The trails were closed last month when U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley banned snowmobiles throughout nearly 470 square miles of national forest land in northern Idaho in an effort to save the last mountain caribou herd in the contiguous 48 states.

The caribou recovery zone in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests remains closed to snowmobiles until the Forest Service develops a winter recreation strategy taking into account the impact of snowmobiles on the herd. Forest Service officials and caribou advocates plan to work on the issue in the next several weeks.

On Friday, snowmobilers organized a rally that drew riders from around the region to protest the snowmobiling ban.

"Everybody's talking about it," said Tim Piver, a snowmobile enthusiast from Deer Park, Wash. "Nobody wants to see an animal go extinct or go unprotected, but there has to be equal compromise."

Mark Sprengel of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance said some trails could be open, while others would not.

"We should be able to accommodate some of what (snowmobilers) want without putting the caribou in jeopardy," he said, but noted that the popular loop trail around Upper Priest Lake was "definitely off the table" because that trail passes through critical winter habitat.

The caribou herd is estimated at 35 to 40 individuals. Whaley's ruling only applies to federal land, and not hundreds of miles of trails on state land on the east side of Priest and Upper Priest lakes.

Many experts believe that not all snowmobile trails within the 300,000-acre recovery area cross key caribou habitat, especially at lower elevations.

The ruling was the second in less than a year by Whaley against snowmobilers who have provided a vital wintertime economic boost in an area many have viewed as a powder paradise.

In December he banned snowmobile trail grooming, and few were willing to endure the bumpy trails, although snowmobiling was still allowed.

Owners of businesses on the west side of Priest Lake said the grooming ban put a severe damper on winter tourism.

Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, said the ban has led to one local snowmobile shop losing $20,000 in orders.

"This will be a huge cost if this remains closed," Anderson said.