The Foys to Blacktail Trails project will receive a $400,000 grant to go toward acquiring 170 acres of forest in the Herron Park area southwest of Kalispell.

The grant comes as part of a nationwide U.S. Forest Service grant of $3.5 million for 10 community forest projects.

“It was a national grant program so it was a pretty competitive process, so it just speaks highly of the caliber of our project,” said Clifford Kipp, chairman of the Foys to Blacktail organization. “We’re super excited to see this. It’s quite a boon for us.”

Kipp said that after the organization started in 2005 with the intent of establishing a trail network between Herron Park and Blacktail Mountain, there was a target fundraising goal of $2.25 million for land acquisition and easements.

The group has raised $1 million so far, not including the recent grant, and there have been several acquisitions: 40 acres added to Flathead County’s Herron Park in 2010, 60 acres added in 2011 and 50 acres added this year.

Herron Park originally was 120 acres.

The federal grant will be used to buy 170 acres identified on the north and west perimeters of the park.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another purchase in the next six months,” Kipp said.

Foys to Blacktail board member Carol Bibler said the grant is a milestone. Her husband, Jim Watson, did much of the writing for the application.

“It was very involved. It was a long application and this is the first time this grant has been offered, so there was no model to follow,” Bibler said. “There were many, many strong letters of support from forestry-related entities.”

Those entities, such as Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. and Plum Creek Timber Co., wrote in support of the community forest concept.

“It is a trails project, but the grant is to create community forests,” Bibler said. “Now that we have this grant we will be using Foys to Blacktail at Herron Park to create a teaching and demonstration forest.

“It will still be available for timber harvest but it will be a place to demonstrate best management practices,” she added.

Bibler said Foys to Blacktail must meet some “match” requirements either with money or land, so the group’s fundraising efforts are not complete.

Kipp had high praise for Flathead County, which manages the Herron Park complex.

“This project wouldn’t be anywhere near where it is today without a successful partnership with the county,” he said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.