It was hard to miss the massive windstorm that tore through Northwest Montana in December, cutting power to thousands of homes from Libby to the Flathead Valley, closing schools and even overturning a semi-truck. But the impact those unforgiving gusts had on the trail systems that weave through the region’s forests remains to be fully realized.
Trail organizations are bracing for a major cleanup effort this spring. While some crews have already headed into the woods to hack away at any debris that’s reachable in early spring, most of the damage is still being gauged as the snow melts.
Trail organizations plan to dispatch their crews earlier than usual and are anticipating placing some planned projects on the backburner to focus on storm cleanup. Some volunteer groups are also considering hiring professional sawyers to handle the more complex blowdowns.
Montana Conservation Corps Director Bobby Grillo described the wind damage on the west side of the Continental Divide as sporadic and dramatic. The saturated and unfrozen soil created the perfect conditions for trees to topple.
“The blow down was astronomical,” Grillo said. “There’s going to need to be a sustained effort from crews of people whose job it is to clear trails to actually get through the mess.”
The AmeriCorps affiliate deploys crews to support the Flathead Forest, Kootenai Forest, Glacier National Park and various local groups with trail maintenance. Gavin Wisdom, the Corps’ regional director, said he has been in discussions with partner agencies about what spring and summer projects will look like.
“There’s doubtless plenty of work to be done out there. As the snow continues to melt, some of that damage continues to be revealed,” he said.
Wisdom expects to do a lot of “cutting and running,” which uses a small crew — sometimes just three sawyers — to clear downed trees from the path as opposed to using a larger team to further beautify the trail by making it look more natural and less like a logging area.
The west side of Glacier National Park saw heavy damage, but not much is known about what the backcountry looks like yet, according to Public Affairs Specialist Autumn Sifuentes. Around 50 seasonal trail staff are hired each year, and the need for additional staffing or resources is not anticipated.
Once staff complete their training in the spring, they will begin clearing local trails in the Lake McDonald Valley and Saint Mary areas. By late May, they’ll move into their hitching rotation, camping around the park while continuing trail clearing work, according to Sifuentes.
Widespread damage is expected in the Flathead National Forest, though assessments are ongoing. Tally Lake Campground was hit especially hard and required immediate cleanup, according to spokesperson Kira Powell.
“Forest personnel and partners have cleared hundreds of trees from roadways and trails thus far, but trail clearing is a constant and continuous process,” she said.
Sarah MacCormick, trail coordinator with Whitefish Legacy Partners, has cleared some debris off sections of the Whitefish Trail system closer to town. However, remote areas like the Beaver Lakes region will be assessed once access improves. She expects another major cleanup effort in April.
Root balls will be a major headache for crews. When trees topple, the mass of roots underneath can be unearthed, tearing up sections of trail and leaving large craters behind.
On Spencer Mountain, Flathead Area Mountain Bikers Executive Director Ron Brandt has already found at least five large root balls that have damaged trails.
Sometimes a path can be rerouted around it, but moving the mass of roots and refilling the hole it leaves behind takes significant time and effort, Brandt said. He plans to get boots on the ground clearing trails earlier than usual this year so they can return to their planned trail-building projects.
The windstorm forced Nathan Russell, executive director of Foys to Blacktail Trails, to weigh whether to scale back planned maintenance projects for 2026.
Recreationists and volunteer scouters reported downed trees and exposed root balls in Herron Park and the Foys to Blacktail trail system. He is considering hiring professionals to handle the unusual amount of damage than what volunteer crews are used to.
“It’s not going to be handsaws. It’s going to be like professional sawyers with chainsaws because the trees are so big,” he said. “I wouldn’t even call it trail maintenance. It’s going to take some trail reconstruction.”
While the low snowpack will make remote areas accessible sooner, it also leaves the forest unusually dry, increasing the risk of wildfires that will be hard to fight if trails remain uncleared.
“It’s critical that those roadways and trails remain open so that our firefighters can access terrain once the fire season gets kicked off, which you know that looms large in everyone’s mind at the moment,” Grillo said.
Severe cuts to the Forest Service workforce by the Trump administration was also a concern for Grillo, who worried that it may inhibit the agency’s ability to effectively address the blowdowns. Seasonal workers were hired this year, and Grillo is waiting to see whether the agency reaches out to the Corps for help on any projects related to the windstorm.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation deploys crews into the remote woods east of Flathead Lake to help maintain Forest Service trails. Executive Director Clifford Kipp said staying nimble is essential to respond when their assistance is need.
“It’s like this caveat that is kind of over all the planning. Like, let’s go to Devil Creek, but let’s know that once the snow clears and we can get in the field, we may have to shift our focus a little,” Kipp said.
Trail organizations urged recreationists to stay wary of downed trees, and to report any hazards they see to land management agencies. Local organizations and federal agencies regularly communicate with one another, so reports will not go unheard.
“There’s a lot of really good kinds of nonprofits and organizations in the area that, thankfully are here and are ready to mobilize as we get a good report of it all,” Brandt said.
Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].
Photo courtesy of Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Flathead Area Mountain Bikers.
Photo courtesy of Flathead Area Mountain Bikers.
