Rehberg to hold session in Libby

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., has scheduled a meeting in Libby to hear public input on wilderness legislation that has been proposed by Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

The Saturday meeting, which will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Ponderosa Room on Spruce Street, is the sixth that Rehberg has held so far regarding Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009.

“Hearing directly from Montanans has already proven invaluable,” Rehberg said in a statement. “These sessions are an important first step to finding a consensus-based solution for our need to actively manage forests while also protecting regions of wilderness for future generations. I look forward to hearing what the folks in Libby have to say.”

Tester’s bill has provisions for designating more than 600,000 acres of federal lands as wilderness, mostly in south-central Montana. But it also includes a designation of about 29,000 acres covering the Roderick Mountain area in the Yaak Valley. That designation was developed by a collaborative effort called the Three Rivers Challenge, which included Lincoln County multiple-use advocates and conservationists.

Rehberg’s listening session is open to all members of the public.