The Forest Service will go through a screening process to determine whether a proposed tramway up Columbia Mountain by Pursuit Glacier Park Collection will move forward, Flathead National Forest Supervisor Anthony Botello said last week.

The 91-acres in Hungry Horse where the proposed tramway’s base would be located is classified as 6-C under the 2018 Flathead National Forest plan.

That calls for high intensity vegetative management with motorized use. Currently it a large, but thinned woods, with a paved multi-use path running along some of it.

The land at the Northwest shoulder of Columbia Mountain where the tram would stop is classified as 5-B, which is backcountry motorized use year-round, but only on designated routes/areas.

The upper end is also in inventoried roadless areas.

Currently there are trails up Columbia Mountain that are used by motorcyclists, but primarily by people hiking, as the route to the top is a long and steep one.

The screening process is not a public one and public comment will not be taken, Botello said. He said that would come later if the proposal clears the screening process.

Part of that process is whether the proposal is compatible with the Forest Plan, but also whether the Bonneville Power Authority would approve a tramway over its high-powered transmission lines, which cross the Bad Rock Canyon from east to west.

Presumably the lines for the tramway would have to cross either over or under those lines, which carry thousands of watts of electricity every day from the Hungry Horse Dam to the power grid. The Forest service would also consult with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes as well, as the Canyon is considered sacred ground.

The screening will examine “public interest and public need for the propos