KALISPELL — Many people utilize the land owned by F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Company for recreation.
But now the company is warning they may close the land to the public after a group of large off-road vehicles damaged newly planted trees.
Stoltze owns more than 38,000 acres of forest land in the Flathead Valley.
Lands and Resource Manager Paul McKenzie says multiple off- road vehicles drove off designated roads creating their own path through private forest land which is against the company's use policy.
McKenzie says public use of Stoltze land for recreation is not guaranteed -- use can be terminated if forest land is treated disrespectfully.
“When we see folks just basically treating the land without respect the impacts get greater, and it’s harder and harder for us to manage that going ahead,” said F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Lands Resource Manager Paul McKenzie.
“We really do want to be able to keep this open and provide folks with the ability to recreate on our properties, but we do have to manage the impacts that come along with that,” he added.
F.H. Stoltze’s full open lands policy can be found on their website.
