Meeting series starts Tuesday on forest plan

A series of public meetings begins Tuesday on proposed revisions to the Flathead National Forest Plan.

On March 6, the Flathead Forest released its proposed action for revising the forest plan, including a management plan for grizzly bears for Flathead and four other national forests in Montana.

The forest plan revision is designed to provide a blueprint for 15 years’ worth of management on the 2.4-million-acre Flathead Forest.

The grizzly plan would be added to existing forest plans for the Kootenai, Helena, Lolo and Lewis and Clark national forests, along with Flathead National Forest. It would create a framework for managing populations of grizzly bears in Western Montana if and when existing protections for the grizzly populations are removed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Forest Service is accepting public comments until May 5. 

Public meetings to discuss the proposed grizzly amendment are planned for the next month, with gatherings in Kalispell, Eureka and Seeley Lake also addressing the other aspects of the Flathead Forest’s proposed plan revision

The meetings are

Kalispell: Tuesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Flathead Forest Supervisor’s Office, 650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell.

Eureka: March 19, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Riverstone Family Lodge, 6370 U.S. 93 N.

Seeley Lake: April 7, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Community Center.

Missoula: April 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Northern Rockies Heritage Center, 3255 Fort Missoula Rd.

Superior: April 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Superior Ranger Station Conference Room, 209 Riverside Ave. W.

Lincoln: April 14, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Community Hall, 404 Main St.

Choteau: April 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Stage Stop Inn, 1005 Main Ave. N.

The proposed action for the revised forest plan can be accessed online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/fpr.