Forest Management

No Open Doors For Bitterroot Resort in Forest Management Plans

By Greg Lemon, 5-01-06

The Bitterroot, Lolo and Flathead National Forests announced their proposed forest plans Monday, which set the stage for forest management in western Montana for the next 15 years. The plans didn’t, however, open any doors for the Bitterroot Resort.

Both the Bitterroot and Lolo proposed plans state clearly that they aren’t changing management strategies around Lolo Peak.

The Bitterroot put a line in their plan specifically addressing ski areas that reads: “Additional downhill ski opportunities would be provided only through limited expansion of Lost Trail Powder Mountain Ski Area.” A Forest Service report released last week concluded that the Missoula region does not need to increase ski-area capacity to keep up with projected demand.

The Lolo Forest also further expanded the nearby Carlton Ridge Research Natural Area by about 600 acres, as well as expanded some recommended wilderness and backcountry designated lands in the area.

Bitterroot Resort was quick to respond to the proposed plan.

"Bitterroot Resort is disappointed but not surprised that the draft forest plan submitted for public comment today overlooks the community-building opportunities of a year-round recreational destination within minutes of 150,000 people," said Tom Maclay, developer of the proposed Bitterroot Resort, in a press release. "There are communities moving aggressively to embrace the healthy fun and tourism revenue that come with developed recreation. We hope Missoula will, too."

Daphne Herling with the Friends of Lolo Peak, the group opposing public land use for the resort, was pleased with the Forest Service’s designation.

“Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys can really celebrate that we have the opportunity to protect that land forever and we won't see it being used to develop high-end real estate,” she said. “Now we need to start galvanizing the public for the comment period.”

But the proposed plans (which you can see in full here) have much more to talk about than just the Bitterroot Resort.

The Forest Service revises forest plans every 10 to 15 years in accordance with the National Forest Management Act, which established the forest plans in the mid-1980s. The revised plans come about 19 years since the first forest plans were approved in 1987.

The forest plans are analogous to a computer’s operating system. They are the framework for project to be proposed, analyzed and completed. And like a computer, the operating system needs to be upgraded from time to time for the programs to continue to work properly.

A significant change in the proposed forest plans includes they look at desired conditions rather than specific land management activities, said Sharon Sweeney, public affairs officer on the Lolo.

The plans approve no specific activities, but rather designate what certain areas of the forest should look like and how they should be managed. Any specific project – whether it is trail construction or timber sales – will have to go through the same analysis process they always go through for approval.

The three forests focus on three main areas of changes in the new plans: recommended wilderness, timber production and fire management.

Each forest increased acres of recommended wilderness. On the Lolo and Bitterroot this included the Stony Mountain area near Rock Creek in the Sapphire Mountains. The Lolo also looked as slightly expanding the Great Burn area as well as recommending a wilderness area north of Missoula along the Flathead Indian Reservation boundary. The Bitterroot is expanding its recommended wilderness area by about 35,000 acres. The Lolo is expanding by about 43,000 acres.

On the Flathead National Forest, the plans propose expanding the recommended wilderness area in the North Fork of the Flathead River bordering Glacier National Park. This will add more than 60,000 acres to the wilderness recommended in the last forest plan.

Recommended wilderness will be managed like wilderness, however only Congress can officially designate wilderness areas.

On the timber harvest end of things, the philosophy is changing, said Dave Bull, Bitterroot National Forest supervisor.

In the last forest plan, the agency established allowable sale quantities for its timber program. On the Bitterroot National Forest that was about 30 million board feet. But the forest never reached that maximum amount, Bull said.

Instead, due to budget and ecological considerations, they averaged between seven and 10 million board feet a year.

Now the program is called Timber Sale Program Quantity and reflects the average amount of timber cut on the national forests over the last three to five years, said Debbie Austin, Lolo National Forest supervisor. It's more of a reasonable target, rather than an absolute maximum, she said.

In fire management, all three national forests expanded their ability to use wildfire for resource benefit.

Currently, wildfire can be used for resource benefits only in wilderness and some recommended wilderness areas, but there is the need and ability to use it outside the wilderness boundary for ecological benefit, Bull said.

This doesn’t mean the agency would let fires burn, but they could adjust the way they manage the fires to allow it to burn in areas where fire is needed, he said. In the previous forest plan, the agency was mandated to suppress all fires outside the wilderness.

The proposed forest plans will be open for a 90 day public comment period starting May 5. After that the agency will address comments and make changes and release a final plan at the end of this year or early in 2007, Bull said.

The agency is also holding public meetings on each forest.

On the Bitterroot, those meetings will be held at the Bitterroot River Inn in Hamilton on May 8, 18, and 31 from 4-8 p.m.

On the Lolo, the agency will hold four meetings: May 10 at the University Center from 6:30-9 p.m.; May 11, at the Seeley Lake Senior Citizen center from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; May 16 at the Superior High School from 6:30 to 9 p.m.; and May 23 at the fairground pavilion in Plains 6:30 to 9 p.m.

On the Flathead the meetings will start May 22 and June 15 at the West Coast Kalispell Center at 4 to 8 p.m. and June 17 at the Kalispell High School from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information contact the Forest Service at (406) 329-3802.

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