FOH Addresses Changing Forest Service Needs

As a part of our partnership with the Forest Service's Bozeman Ranger District, Friends of Hyalite has a Cooperative Agreement with the Custer Gallatin National Forest. This agreement allows us to contribute money raised through donations to Friends of Hyalite to the Forest Service for snow plowing, salary support for a Hyalite Steward and summer volunteer hosts, as well as funding for other projects that fulfill our mission of supporting the stewardship of, access to, and support for year-round recreation in Hyalite Canyon.

Unfortunately, major personnel and budget cuts at the Forest Service have significantly impacted what activities we can support under our Cooperative Agreement. For example, the Forest Service now does not have the personnel to staff a Hyalite Steward position and funds for critical infrastructure and equipment maintenance and repair are very limited. In addition, we have experienced delays this year in transferring funds to the Forest Service under our Cooperative Agreement and are concerned these delays may continue in the future.

Given these circumstances, we have been working closely with the Forest Service to make changes to our annual budget to address these issues and better support the Forest Service in these difficult times. These changes include:

1.   Increasing our snow plowing budget from $10,000 to $15,000. This increase ensures that we will have enough funds to plow Hyalite Canyon Road next winter even if it is a very snowy winter

2.   With the loss of the Hyalite Steward and inability to hire one for the foreseeable future, we will reallocate the $10,000 we usually pay toward the steward’s salary and instead direct it toward critical Hyalite infrastructure and equipment maintenance and repair. We will also continue to provide partial support for the summer volunteer hosts in Hyalite

3.   This year we will transfer an additional $15,000 for snow plowing to the Forest Service so they will have enough money ”in-hand” to cover snow plowing costs for the next two years in case we have difficulty next year in transferring funds to the Forest Service through our Cooperative Agreement.

All of these changes are consistent with Friends of Hyalite's mission of making Hyalite available year-round for recreation by the members of our community. While watching our friends at the Forest Service struggle with these new challenges has been frustrating, we are incredibly thankful for their partnership and the outpouring of support we’ve received from the community. 

 Your donations DO make a difference and are more important than ever!  If you would like to contribute to Friends of Hyalite, please follow this link: https://www.hyalite.org/donate

 Friends of Hyalite Board of Directors