[MCN] Montana Wilderness Association working to triple industrial logging on Kootenai National Forest?

[John Meyer]

Matthew,

Your response didn't go through.

Please respond to everyone on the listserve. It seems like an opportunity
for good discussion.

On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 10:35 AM, Matthew Koehler <mattykoehler at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> Do you think any timber should be harvested from Forest Service lands?
>
> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 10:32 AM, John Meyer <John at cottonwoodlaw.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Matthew,
>>
>> Do you think any timber should be harvested from Forest Service lands?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 12, 2016 at 8:36 AM, Matthew Koehler via
>> Missoula-Community-News <missoula-community-news at bigskynet.org> wrote:
>>
>>> It's worth remembering that the Kootenai National Forest belongs equally
>>> to all Americans, not just a handful of local people in Montana. As you'll
>>> see below the Montana Wilderness Association and Yaak Valley Forest Council
>>> are part of a non-transparent, exclusive "collaborative" group that has
>>> apparently developed a legislative plan to triple industrial logging on the
>>> Kootenai National Forest by accessing the forest from different areas.  If
>>> you care deeply about the future of America's public lands legacy this is
>>> yet another recent example of where some 'collaborative' groups in Montana
>>> are severely undermining that legacy. Please consider contacting Montana's
>>> congressional delegation and let them know you oppose these efforts to
>>> legislate huge increases in industrial logging on National Forests in
>>> Montana. Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Kootenai Stakeholders Coalition prepare for legislative campaign*
>>>
>>> http://www.thewesternnews.com/news/kootenai-stakeholders-coa
>>> lition-prepare-for-legislative-campaign/article_d15464f8-8fd
>>> 7-11e6-805f-c798d6bb8bae.html
>>>
>>> The Kootenai National Forest covers a vast majority of Lincoln County’s
>>> natural resources, recreation and wilderness areas. Lincoln County
>>> currently claims the second-highest unemployment rate in the state, *prompting
>>> calls for the community to open up the forests for timber harvests*.
>>> Others demand allocated wilderness areas, while another group maintains
>>> that *snowmobiling remains a right on public land*.
>>>
>>> About 10 years ago, a group formed to bring those interests to one
>>> conversation. After about a decade of developing collaborative goals
>>> between groups of different interests, *the Kootenai Forest
>>> Stakeholders Coalition is now working on getting those goals stamped with
>>> federal legislative approval.*
>>>
>>> “Without implementation, or the ability to implement what we’ve been
>>> working on for the last seven years, it’s really just ink on paper,” said
>>> State Sen. Chas Vincent, R-Libby, an associate at Environomics, a public
>>> relations group focused on connecting government affairs and timber
>>> management. “It’s everyone rolling up their sleeves, and saying there’s 2.2
>>> million acres here; there’s something for everyone.”
>>>
>>> The coalition formed in 2006, drawing from different groups whose
>>> interests include timber harvest, wilderness and recreation. During the
>>> last seven of those 10 years, the coalition has developed a list of
>>> guidelines that the organization says can enhance all three while hurdling
>>> the endless advance of environmental litigation in order to get
>>> Congressional approval.
>>>
>>> Today, the coalition includes officials from lumber companies, Lincoln
>>> County,* Montana Wilderness Association, the Yaak Valley Forest Council*;
>>> even the Troy Snowmobile Club. Community members from Eureka, Troy, Libby,
>>> Columbia Falls and Thompson Falls make up the organization.
>>>
>>> *The current Forest Service plan expects that the Kootenai could produce
>>> around 40 million board feet of timber, but Vincent said the coalition’s
>>> plan could draw about 90-120 million board feet by accessing the forest
>>> from different areas.*
>>>
>>> But before the process goes into legislative form, Vincent said the
>>> coalition needs public outreach to ensure that everyone’s concerns are
>>> heard before the bill is brought to Washington, D.C.
>>>
>>> “We need a process that recognizes that there are excellent, diverse
>>> people working in a collaborative fashion with the agency that will manage
>>> the watershed for future generations,” he said. “As a Kootenai pilot
>>> project, we need all the communities supportive of that pilot. That’s what
>>> we’re beginning to do.”
>>>
>>> Amy Robinson, northwest region field director for the Montana Wilderness
>>> Association and a member of the coalition, said the organization is
>>> currently scheduling a lineup of public open houses expected to begin
>>> sometime this month. The coalition’s website, kootenaifuture.org, went
>>> live a few weeks ago and outlines the goals developed during the last 10
>>> years.
>>>
>>> “We no longer want to fight old battles because there’s an amazing
>>> amount we already agree on,” Robinson said. “People really want to move
>>> forward in the community. That comes from a lot of different interest
>>> groups and leadership.”
>>>
>>> Vincent said in order to best prepare for bringing the coalition’s plan
>>> to Congress, members of the community have to be on board with the
>>> coalition’s plan.
>>>
>>> “We have to make sure we get those three legs of the stool attached
>>> firmly,” Vincent said. “We have a lot of work to do before prime time. But
>>> we’re getting close.”
>>>
>>> Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at
>>> slarson at dailyinterlake.com.
>>>
>>> -----------------
>>> Missoula Community News: An announcement list for the progressive,
>>> alternative and nonprofit communities in Missoula and Western Montana.
>>>
>>> List Info:
>>>    http://bigskynet.org/mailman/listinfo/missoula-community-ne
>>> ws_bigskynet.org
>>> List-Post:
>>>    mailto:missoula-community-news at bigskynet.org
>>> List-Help:
>>>    mailto:missoula-community-news-request at bigskynet.org?subject=help
>>> List-Unsubscribe:
>>>    http://bigskynet.org/mailman/listinfo/missoula-community-ne
>>> ws_bigskynet.org
>>>    mailto:missoula-community-news-request at bigskynet.org?subjec
>>> t=unsubscribe
>>> List-Subscribe:
>>>    http://bigskynet.org/mailman/listinfo/missoula-community-ne
>>> ws_bigskynet.org
>>>    mailto:missoula-community-news-request at bigskynet.org?subjec
>>> t=subscribe
>>> Want a human?
>>>    mailto:listadmin at wildrockies.org
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> <http://www.cottonwoodlaw.org>
>>
>> John Meyer
>> Executive Director & General Counsel
>> Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
>> P.O. Box 412 Bozeman, MT 59771
>> John at Cottonwoodlaw.org
>> (406) 546-0149
>>
>> The information contained herein is privileged and confidential. If you
>> are not the intended recipient, you must delete this email and inform the
>> sender of the error.
>>
>> www.cottonwoodlaw.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>


-- 

<http://www.cottonwoodlaw.org>

John Meyer
Executive Director & General Counsel
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
P.O. Box 412 Bozeman, MT 59771
John at Cottonwoodlaw.org
(406) 546-0149

The information contained herein is privileged and confidential. If you are
not the intended recipient, you must delete this email and inform the
sender of the error.

www.cottonwoodlaw.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://bigskynet.org/pipermail/missoula-community-news_bigskynet.org/attachments/20161012/c926a991/attachment-0002.html>