A new parking area is available to hunters and other people accessing the Lolo and Kootenai national forests near Thompson Falls, which is a popular access point for big game hunters.

Officials were approached last Fall by the Sanders County Sheriffs Office about traffic problems at the intersection of Upper Mosquito Creek Road / Forest Service Road 300 and Little Beaver Creek Road, said Dale Peters, a forester with DNRC's Plains Unit.

"Little Beaver Creek Road makes a sharp turn right where the Forest Service road comes in," Peters said. "Law enforcement was concerned about safety issues, and one adjacent landowner was dealing with people parking in his driveway. The Sheriffs Office wondered if there was anything we could do."

The DNRC became involved because the first mile of the U.S. Forest Service road passes across state land, Peters said.

"For the short-term solution, we were able to move the gate forward about 200 feet. But then I started thinking about the whole situation," Peters said. "There was a real need for a designated parking area, and it had to allow for someone to turn a horse trailer around. I thought it might qualify for a grant from the Sanders County Resource Advisory Committee, so I worked up a proposal."

A grant request for $10,000 was approved, and construction was completed in September. The finished project came in $2,000 below estimate and the surplus funds went back to the RAC account.