Commissioners appoint forest advisory panel

By JIM MANN

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County commissioners have appointed a task force to make recommendations on the Flathead National Forest's forest plan revision and for a governor's initiative on roadless lands managed by the Forest Service in Montana.

The 12-member panel will meet for the first time Dec. 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Flathead County's Earl Bennett Building.

Commissioner Gary Hall said Forest Service officials had urged the commissioners to appoint people representing diverse viewpoints on forest management issues, and he believes the appointments meet that requirement.

The group's discussions will be coordinated by state Sens. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish, and Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, who also were appointed by the commissioners.

The group includes:

-Bill Baum, a Realtor who works part time as a substitute teacher and research assistant in grizzly bear and climate-change research;

-Richard Funk, a Kila schoolteacher who is a native Flathead resident;

-Edwin Fields, a general contractor who has served on the Whitefish planning board, the Whitefish Lake Protection Committee and the Whitefish City Council;

-Lisa Bate, a consulting biologist who has researched forest ecosystems for 15 years;

-Vic Workman, a Realtor and member of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission who has served on the Whitefish City Council;

-Ronald Stuber, a retired veterinarian who has long been active with the Montana Back Country Horsemen;

-Doug Denmark, a Flathead Realtor who has been active with the Flathead Business and Industry Association, including two years as president of the organization;

-Fred Hodgeboom, a retired Forest Service planner and forester who is president of Montanans for Multiple Use;

-Robbie Holman, former owner of Holman Aviation who has interests in skiing, hiking, biking and motorized sports;

-John Hansen, a forester and field safety representative with the Montana Logging Association;

-Chuck Roady, the lands and resource manager with F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. of Columbia Falls;

-Dave Hadden, a Bigfork resident and field representative for the Montana Wilderness Association.

While the Forest Service has encouraged diverse groups to develop consensus-based recommendations for revising the Flathead forest's long-term management plan, Hall said consensus is not expected in the task force's deliberations because there may be very few areas where total agreement can be reached.

Instead, the group will produce a report reflecting majority opinions and minority opinions.

The group will also provide comments to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who is developing recommendations on roadless lands management in Montana as part of a Bush administration initiative to encourage state-by-state involvement on roadless issues.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com