[MCN] Groups File Objections to Protect Fish, Wildlife and Wilderness on the Flathead National Forest

[Matthew Koehler]

NOTE: If you can't get the links to work below, this general link will take
you to all this information.

http://www.swanview.org/articles/blog/groups_file_objections_in_support_of_fish_and_wildlife_in_northern_rockies/253

Also, please note while all the groups below are fighting to protect fish,
wildlife and Wilderness as part of the revised Flathead National Forest
Plan, some groups are "collaborating" with the timber industry for more
public lands logging, less recommended Wilderness and fewer protections for
threatened wildlife like grizzly bears, lynx and bull trout.

Conservation groups wanting better protection for fish and wildlife in the
Northern Rockies filed Objections to the revised Flathead Forest Plan and
Amendments to four other Forest Plans in the Northern Continental Divide
Ecosystem.

The plan revision and amendments are intended to pave the way for delisting
of threatened grizzly bear in the NCDE, which would remove their Endangered
Species Act protection.

The groups launched a letter writing campaign in 2016. This resulted in 98%
of the 33,744 comments the Forest Service received on its Draft
Environmental Impact Statement calling for protection of all remaining
roadless lands as wilderness and continuation of the road decommissioning
program that agencies credit with improving grizzly bear security and
helping restore critical bull trout watersheds.

The revised Flathead Forest Plan instead abandons its road decommissioning
program and recommends for wilderness designation only 30% of the areas it
found suitable for wilderness. The Kootenai, Lolo, Lewis and Clark, and
Helena Forest Plans would similarly be amended to abandon road removal as a
primary means to restore fish and wildlife habitat that has been damaged.

The groups rallied around the principles of the Citizen reVision
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/Citizen_reVision_Flathead_Forest_Plan.pdf>alternative
Swan View Coalition and Friends of the Wild Swan asked the Forest Service
to include in its DEIS. The DEIS included some of these principles in its
Alternative C, which it then assigned the highest marks for maintaining
water quality and wildlife habitat connectivity. The FEIS and revised
Flathead Forest Plan, however, select Alternative B-modified even though it
is assigned "the highest risk of impact to aquatic species" and "is likely
to adversely affect" already threatened grizzly bear, bull trout, and
Canada lynx!

The Objections were due at Forest Service Region One headquarters in
Missoula on February 12. The Region now has ten days to "publish a notice
of all objections in the applicable newspaper of record and post the notice
online." The Region's responses to the Objections are due within 90 days,
unless it grants itself extensions.

Below are links to some of the Objections filed by groups supporting the
principles of the Citizen reVision
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/Citizen_reVision_Flathead_Forest_Plan.pdf>:

Swan View Coalition Objection
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/SVC_Forest_Plan_Objection.pdf> and
Supplemental
Objection <http://www.swanview.org/reports/SVC_Supplemental_Objection.pdf>.

Friends of the Wild Swan Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/FOWS_Forest_Plan_Objection.pdf>

Independent Wildlife Consultant Brian Peck Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/Brian_Peck_Forest_Plan_Objection.pdf>

WildEarth Guardians, Western Watersheds Project and Sierra Club Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/WG_Forest_Plan_Objection.pdf>

Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Montana Ecosystems Defense Council, Friends
of the Wild Swan Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/AWR_Forest_Plan_Objection.pdf>

Flathead-Lolo-Bitterroot Citizen Task Force, Wilderness Watch, WildWest
Institute, Friends of the Bitterroot, Friends of the Rattlesnake, Friends
of the Clearwater, Independent Consultant Mike Bader Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/Bader_for_Flathead_Lolo_Bitterroot_CTF_Flathead_Plan_objection_comments.pdf>

Citizens' Objection filed by WildEarth Guardians on behalf of 4,000+
signors. <http://www.swanview.org/reports/WG_Citizens_Objection.pdf>

Montana Chapter Sierra Club Objection.
<http://www.swanview.org/reports/MT_Sierra_Club_Objection.pdf>

The 3,000 pages of FEIS, Forest Plan and Forest Plan amendments can be found
here
<https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/flathead/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5422786&width=full>
.
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