Alliance with feds proposed

Flathead County, U.S. Forest Service would collaborate

A plan to coordinate natural-resource planning between Flathead County and the U.S. Forest Service and ultimately make forest management more efficient was unveiled this week by the county's Natural Resource Committee.

The county commissioners expressed support for the collaborative plan and decided on Tuesday to take it under advisement for further study and a later vote.

Committee members outlined operating protocols, a draft memorandum of understanding and a proposed letter that would be sent to Flathead National Forest Supervisor Cathy Barbouletos once the plan is adopted by the county.

National forest land accounts for more than half the acreage of Flathead County and it's imperative, committee chairman Fred Hodgeboom said, for the county to promote increased active management on national forest land that will provide long-term sustainable revenue to the federal treasury and Flathead County.

The committee cited several detrimental effects from the county's proximity to federal forest land, including increased catastrophic wildfires and exposure to unhealthy smoke levels; damage to watersheds, riparian zones, fisheries and water quality due to increased nutrients from smoke and soil erosion; wildlife losses; spiraling firefighting costs; and loss of income to county businesses from depreciated and ruined timber.

Committee member Ron Buentemeier, a retired general manager of F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co., pointed out that of the 2.3 million acres of Flathead National Forest land, 670,000 acres are suitable for timber harvesting. But since 1945, only 245,000 acres of Flathead National Forest land have been logged.

"All of the conflict centers almost exclusively around whether to cut a tree," Buentemeier said, adding that timber harvesting has been the primary focus of lawsuits involving federal land.

A process for federal and local government coordination is outlined in numerous federal laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, the committee noted. The letter to Barbouletos would formally "invoke" that under-utilized coordination process in those laws.

Previously there has been no official protocol by which the county and Forest Service can work together on issues of mutual concern, committee member Clarice Ryan said as she outlined a draft memorandum of understanding aimed at creating the needed protocol to explore issues and come to an agreement through a "non-abrasive process."

The memorandum establishes who the participants would be in joint discussions and the decision-making process. Once approved by the commissioners and federal officials, it would remain in effect for 10 years, but either party could terminate it with a 90-day written notice.

"It's government to government, both parties equal," Hodgeboom said. "This is so local government has significant input before the Forest Service does anything on their own behind closed doors."

The committee has spent more than two years developing the coordination plan, drawing on similar efforts in Owyhee County, Idaho, and Modoc County, Calif., where successful collaborative management efforts have been established.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com