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DB STANDUP "With 200,000 visitors per year and 1400 skiers
per month in the winter Lake Como is the pure definition of a multi-use recreation area.
This new agreement aims to keep all those visitors safe."
Last winter, homemade signs popped up along the ski trails, warning dog owners there were
traps in the area. That wasn't the case, but it caused alarm, prompting trappers and skiers
to post new informational signs this season...
TOBY WALRATH/MONTANA TRAPPERS ASSOC "There is plenty of room out there for people
to utilize our public lands. We have millions of acres in Montana and this is just one opportunity
to create and promote awareness."
State law requires traps to be 1-thousand feet from campgrounds and trailheads. The
Forest Service extended that ban to within 150-feet of trails. The Trappers' Association
is recommending trappers avoid Lake Como altogether...
VIVICA CROWSER/MONTANA FWP "It's a good place to come and ski and bring
your dog, and for the trappers not a good place to be setting traps on the ground right
amongst this. But there are other places to do that."
TONY NEAVES/PRES. COMO TRAILS CLUB "It's also the dog owner's responsibility
to pay attention where the dogs are. Not only could there be a trap somewhere out there,
but there's also other animals that could do harm to their dog like moose, lions, wolves,
etc."
The new signs show more details of the 30-mile network of trails, including all use regulations...
TOD MCKAY/BITTERROOT NAT'L FOREST "Please stop by and take a look at the map.
Make sure you're familiar with the ski trails, where they go, where you should be and shouldn't
be. It's a real education effort and we need the public's help to make sure all the people
using this area got along and are informed."
At Lake Como, Dennis Bragg, MTN News.