Associated Press
LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - Adventurous motorists who want to follow the true route of Lewis and Clark through the Idaho Panhandle next year must win a lottery and buy a permit for the chance to drive the primitive Lolo Motorway.
The lottery, patterned after the system used to control crowds of whitewater enthusiasts on some Idaho rivers, was designed to protect cultural and natural resources as well as travelers, said Christine Bradbury of the Clearwater National Forest in Orofino. As the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery expedition cranks up, interest in following their route is growing.
The agency will restrict travel between July 15 and Oct. 1. Lottery applications will be accepted Dec. 1 through Jan. 31. It will cost $6 to enter the lottery and $25 to $55 for a permit to travel the route. The $6 entry fee is nonrefundable.
Parties of up to 10 people and two full-size vehicles will pay $25 for a permit. Groups with 11 to 35 people will pay $55 for a permit.
The Forest Service will allow 10 parties a day to enter the route, traveling east to west only. They can spend as many as eight nights on the motorway and will be assigned camping spots along the primitive road.
"The term motorway is a bit confusing for people from more urban areas," she said. "Truly, we expect the bulk of the traffic to be hitting U.S. Highway 12. ... And for people not familiar with Idaho, traveling Highway 12 will be a remote and rugged experience."
The restricted route follows ridges between the Lochsa and North Fork of the Clearwater rivers, and access has been free in the past.
The agency said the lottery might disappear if the Lewis and Clark crowds fail to materialize. The Forest Service plans to drop it all together after 2006, when the bicentennial celebration concludes.
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