Flathead Ballots Will Feature Non-Binding Poll on Roadless Areas

Big, Vague Questions

By Kate Downen, 5-31-06

At the request of Flathead County Commissioners Bob Watne and Gary Hall, Flathead County's Tuesday ballots will feature the following non-binding language and 'poll' questions related to the hotbed issues revolving around roadless areas:

"At the present time there are 64 million acres of national forest lands managed as roadless areas in Montana. Should that forest land:

A) Be managed by the Forest Service for multiple purposes including motorized recreation and roaded timber production;
OR
B) Be managed by the Forest Service for multiple purposes including non-motorized recreation and roadless timber production"

The questions, reports the Daily Inter Lake, are result of a task force appointed to develop a Flathead County position on roadless areas. They will be used to gauge public opinion on the roadless issue.

The language has faced debate and County Commissioner Joe Brenneman, Democrat, disagrees with the poll's inclusion on the ballot.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.

By Kate Downen, 5-31-06 | comments (2) | email story | print story

NEW WEST FEATURES More>>

Strategy Offers Hope in Beetle Battle

By David Frey

Mark Spragg’s “Bone Fire” Returns to Familiar Ground

By Jenny Shank

Harry Reid, the New Public Lands Enemy No. 1

By Bill Schneider

The North Fork of the Flathead: The Gem of the Continent

By U.S. Senator Max Baucus

Comments

By Craig Moore, 6-01-06

Kate, if I were a voter in the Flathead I would find it impossible to make an intelligent vote based on the "either A versus B choice" of this measure. The devil is always in the details and there appears to be 64 million acres of details missing as to the effects on the users and the environment for the A versus B outcome.

By Kate, 6-01-06

I agree with you Craig. The above information was from yesterday's Inter Lake, and I'm hoping discussion around the topic will prompt more information instead of hastily made decisions following ballot 'poll' results. In light of that, I hope anyone with Flathead roadless information or perspective will pipe up in the near future; there is so much more to be said on this issue....all 64 million acres considered.

Your Comment

Comment policy:

NewWest.Net encourages robust and lively, but civil participation from our readers. By posting here, you agree to the NewWest.Net terms of service. You agree to keep your comments on topic, respectful and free of gratuitous profanity. Contributions that engage in personal attacks, racism, sexism, bigotry, hatred or are otherwise patently offensive will be subject to removal.

Other than using a filter that scans for comment spam, we do not moderate contributions before they are posted and we do not review every thread, so we ask that you help us in keeping the discussions civil and appropriate. Please email info@newwest.net to notify us of comments that may violate these guidelines. Thanks for your help and cooperation. Click here for some tips on how to best interact on NewWest.Net.

You must be a registered user to submit comments, if you are not, register here for free.

Name

Remember my name and email address.

Notify me of follow-up comments.

NEW WEST TOPICS

NEW WEST LOCAL

Big, Vague Questions