State takes on co-management of 200,000 federal acres in Northwest Montana
The U.S. Forest Service Flathead National Forest Supervisor's Office on Wolfpack Way in Kalispell on Tuesday, Feb. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
About 214,000 acres on the Kootenai and Flathead national forests will serve as what Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte called the “initial sandbox” for a shared stewardship agreement between the state and U.S. Forest Service.
Signed in June 2025, the agreement seeks to increase the pace and scale of forestry projects on national forestlands in Montana through long-term state and federal partnerships. Under the plan, the state agreed to take on the implementation of certain restoration goals for an as-yet-unidentified tract of National Forest system land in Northwest Montana, “with a focus on areas with marketable timber.”
CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
