CUSTER-GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST
BOZEMAN –The Gallatin Valley Land Trust on July 22 donated the 5.9-acre Sourdough Canyon Trailhead property – located at the end of Sourdough Canyon Road in Bozeman – to the U.S. Forest Service for inclusion in the long-term management of the Custer Gallatin National Forests.
A popular take off point for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, dog walking and cross-country skiing, the trailhead is one of Bozeman’s most popular access points to public land.
Michael Delaney, Ileana Indreland and the Schaap family donated the property in 2007 to GVLT and with the intention of handing the trailhead to a public entity for long-term management and stewardship, the nonprofit held a series of stakeholder meetings to garner public input about how the trailhead should be improved and managed.
“This is a complicated little 6-acre property,” said Kelly Pohl, GVLT Associate Director. “It contains a county road, a city municipal water source, and it provides year-round access for thousands of people to national forest lands.”
Over the course of the next seven years and with the help of partners and neighbors, GVLT invested more than $200,000 to improve public safety, restore watershed health along Bozeman Creek, and enhance recreational facilities. Individual donors, Gallatin County Resource Advisory Committee, Recreational Trails Program, National Forest Foundation, REI, and Montana Import Group funded the improvements.
“The donation of Sourdough Canyon Trailhead and the improvements will help ensure permanent public access and continue to help protect our exceptional natural resources in Bozeman Creek,” said Lisa Stoeffler, Bozeman District Ranger, Custer Gallatin National Forests.
