Horseshoe Hills Management Area

History

The Horseshoe Hills is an area of approximately 9,000 acres south of the Double Arrow and north of Big Sky Lake in the Seeley Lake area. It was originally owned and actively managed by Plum Creek Timber Company. In 2002, the Blackfoot Challenge partnered with the Nature Conservancy to purchase approximately 89,000 acres of Plum Creek land in the Blackfoot River watershed. The Horseshoe Hills was part of this land aquisition. It was purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 2005 and came into Forest Service ownership in 2006.

Current Issues

During Plum Creek's ownership of the Horseshoe Hills, the area was open to public use in the form of hiking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and biking. The Forest Service would like to maintain open access to the Horseshoe Hills but must also consider the needs of the land after decades of active timber management. The agency is partnering with the Clearwater Resource Council to gain a better understanding of how the Seeley Lake community would like to see the area managed. The goal is to ensure that the Horseshoe Hills is managed in a way that reflects the needs of the land and the desires of the the community that uses it.