Amanda Cooley knew better than to hold her breath.
Cooley, planning director for Powell County, has been an active backer of an ambitious plan for a 262-mile trail traveling between Butte and the Idaho line.
In early January, she and other trail supporters celebrated news of federal funding that seemed to promise moving the Parks to Passes project from a lofty vision toward a more realistic prospect of fruition.
Amanda Cooley, planning director for Powell County, discussed the proposed Parks to Passes Trail during an April 23, 2024, gathering in Deer Lodge. She and Jackson Lee of Missoula County helped apply for federal funding for the trail study.
Duncan Adams, The Montana Standard
Soon after, a period of limbo emerged as the Trump administration began to cut agency personnel and cancel or pause federal grants.
Cooley reported last