Last meeting was packed, heated
Bitterroot Forest Switches Format for Next Travel Meeting
By Courtney Lowery, 1-14-08
The Bitterroot National Forest’s second public meeting on its Travel Management Plan—which governs motorized use on the Forest—is scheduled for tomorrow, January 15th and this time, it will have a more open-house like format, said forest spokeswoman Nan Christianson.
The meeting Tuesday comes on the heels of a rather contentious first meeting in Darby last week that sparked an investigation into an alleged threat directed at a conservationist at the meeting. (Click here for the full story on last week’s meeting.) Forest officials canceled a meeting scheduled for the following day, citing space concerns. The first meeting brought out more than 200 people.
This second meeting will be at the Bitterroot River Inn and will run from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.—allowing people to stop by anytime throughout the afternoon and evening. Forest Service staff will be on hand to explain the proposed travel plan (which you can read more about here) and to answer questions.
There will be no formal presentations by Forest Service employees and no verbal public comment will be taken. Instead, comment forms will be available for people to weigh in.
Forest Supervisor Dave Bull has also extended the comment period on the plan for the second time, to February 29th to “ensure interested parties have a chance to understand the Proposed Action and to provide meaningful comments,” according to a release from the Forest Service. The plan was first released for review in late September,
“We recognize the importance of travel management to Forest users and I appreciate that so many people attended Wednesday’s meeting in Darby. However, I expect people to be respectful of other participants and I will not tolerate unruly or threatening behavior at our meetings,” Supervisor Bull said in a press release. “As individuals and as a community, we lose immeasurably if we cannot hold civil discussions in which we thoughtfully listen to and express diverse opinions.”
A third meeting is planned for north end of the Bitterroot Valley, but time and place have not been finalized.
Considering that the first meeting verged upon bloodshed; what is planned to ascertain a neutral constabulary presence..?
Comment By steve kelly, 1-15-08This is called an open house, not a public meeting. The public is divided (and conquered) only learning what the FS thinks is important. Most often, oral public comments inform others who came to listen and learn. As long as travel planning is processed separately and apart from the Forest Plan Revision process, the FS can guarantee minimum accountability, maximum conflict, and maximum congressional funding.
Comment By Dave Skinner, 1-16-08I agree completely with Steve Kelly (I guess you aren't the perpetual candidate and artist Steve). If the bad dogs, like Darby Bullet, are kept at bay, public meetings can be great. But these open houses, where nobody hears what their neighbors are thinking, nobody hears comments that spark ideas or lines of logic, are a complete waste of time. I hate them, ever since the first "open houses" staged by Dombeck's USFS to ramroad the roadless initiative travesty.
Facilitated setups are even worse. Like the stickers things. Sheeze.
Sham setups like this are precisely the reason people say stupid things.
The FS has already contracted out for the work to be done weeks ago and thats is what makes this all a big joke a wastes of our tax dollars jus to keep it simple and keep the back country to the Horseman cb 's big dollars at work
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