Commercial forest collection shut down

While nearly 1,500 Forest Service activities have been shut down nationwide by a court order from California, the ruling does not affect Christmas tree and firewood permits in Montana.

But it does apply to commercial Christmas tree harvesting and pine-bough collecting, prompting the Kootenai National Forest to halt those activities.

The July 2 ruling from Judge James Singleton determined that projects approved through regulations that exclude certain activities from a public review process violate the federal Appeals Reform Act. The judge on Sept. 16 clarified his order, saying that it "will not be confined to the Eastern District of California or the Ninth Circuit."

As a result, the ruling had a nationwide impact on the Forest Service.

According to an Associated Press story, the agency has identified 1,436 projects or activities on national forests around the country where permits were suspended because of the ruling.

The situation raised uncertainties in Montana about traditional activities such as Christmas tree and firewood collecting on federal forests.

"My understanding is that Christmas tree permits are available across the region. The perception that's out there that you won't be able to cut Christmas trees is not valid," said Joe Krueger, the environmental coordinator on the Flathead National Forest.

But commercial Christmas tree harvesting and pine bough collecting are different matters. While there are no commercial permits for those activities on the Flathead forest, there were on the Kootenai National Forest.

The Kootenai has suspended those activities, and it doesn't appear they will be allowed before December, said John Gubel, the Kootenai's environmental coordinator.

That came as a surprise to the family that operates Robinson Tree Farm, a Flathead Valley business that has commercially harvested Christmas trees off the Kootenai National Forest.

"It definitely has an impact," said Kevin Robinson, who had planned to start cutting Christmas trees at the end of October.

The business typically takes about 1,000 trees to sell from lots in Utah, with the natural trees often outselling groomed plantation trees.

"There's a lot of people who don't want a plantation tree, just like people who don't want an artificial tree," Robinson said.

This year, Robinson Tree Farms will be limited to selling plantation trees.

Gubel said there will be similar impacts for commercial pine-bough collectors. And it's all because of the timing of the ruling.

The Forest Service must provide public notice for certain projects and permits that were approved through the "categorical exclusion" regulations that the ruling applies to. The agency must then allow for public comment, and if necessary, an appeals process.

The public notice and opportunity for public comment take 30 days.

"And this all came out in September," leaving no time to process commercial Christmas tree and pine-bough collection permits before December, Gubel said.

The ruling does not effect personal permits for Christmas trees and firewood, which were approved under specialty forest product regulations that were adopted well before the ruling came out.

It would apply to commercial firewood cutting, but there are no commercial firewood operations on either Flathead or Kootenai forests this year.

Nationwide, the ruling applies to 115 permits for guided hunting, fishing, river trips and horseback rides, 14 projects on ski areas, 98 permits for public utilities and communications sites, and National Guard training on the Hoosier National Forest in Indiana. They also include thinning and burning to reduce wildfire danger on 20,000 acres, and 169 projects involving trail and campground maintenance.

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