Swan Lake Collaborative Group

Whitefish Working Group

Flathead Community Working Group

Flathead Forestry Project

 POINTS OF AGREEMENT AMONG THE PUBLIC INPUT WORKING GROUPS 

The four groups which held public meetings in the Flathead for the purpose of submitting public input to the Forest Plan Revision Team were:

The four groups produced issue statements some of which were similar to those of the other groups.  The groups were presented with a suggested six general forest topics to address.  None of the groups addressed all six topics.  The only topics that all four addressed were wildfire and forest products.  Furthermore, they did not each address the topics to the same extent.  Nevertheless, several common themes evolved with similar resolutions , which indicates not only the importance of those common themes but the high degree of public agreement on them because, since all of the groups worked independently and the meetings were all open to the public and there was a diversity of opinions present at most meetings, these concurrences should be taken to indicate a broad or general agreement among the public on those issues.   

Two of the groups adopted a consensus rule that required complete unanimity on a statement and the other two adopted a majority and a super majority rule.  Those using the majority rules usually had a very high degree of agreement, 70% to 100%. 

ALL FOUR GROUPS AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING: 

“Start intensive program of fuel reduction near populated areas and then work out from there.”  FCWG

o       “The primary goal of management in the WUI is the protection of lives, homes, businesses, essential infrastructure …”  and, “A major strategy for achieving the WUI management goal is creating and maintaining forest conditions that minimize the potential for a running crown fire and provide for effective direct and indirect fire suppression tactics in the event of a wildfire. To that end, stands within ½ mile of an at-risk community are managed to create and maintain conditions that would cause crown fires to drop to the ground and would keep ground fires from becoming crown fires.”, and, “If areas where federal lands are adjacent to homes, businesses, or other structures on private lands, fuel reduction is more intensive than in other areas.”   FFP 

o       “The USFS should aggressively use all appropriate tools given to them in the December 2003 HFRA Bill to reduce fuels and the risk of wildfires, with the priority being, but not limited to, the Wildland/Urban Interface.”  WWG

o      “Firefighting: suppression and fuels reduction efforts in the private/Forest Service interface areas should be the first priority” SWAN LAKE  

  Encourage commercial utilization of wood products

o       “Commercial use of previously underutilized wood products and waste materials is encouraged and investment in new utilization processes is fostered,” and, “Any wood products generated as a result of fuel reduction treatments are made available for commercial use.”  FFP

o       “Make economic use of the removed material coming out of fuel reduction treatments; maximum utilization of all wood fiber (dead and down and thinned trees).”  SWAN LAKE

THREE OF THE FOUR AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING.  THE FOURTH GROUP DID NOT ADDRESS THE ISSUE AT ALL:

Forest roads must be retained in a condition that renders them usable to firefighters.

o       “Gated roads shall be opened for fire control.”  FCWG

o       “The Forest Service should retain all roads in a condition suitable for emergency use by firefighters.”  WWG

o       “We must have access to put fires out. Emphasis on leaving existing roads passable (i.e., not removing culverts)and using gate and seasonal closures when necessary.”  SWAN LAKE 

 Fires should be fought early and aggressively

   “Develop faster response plans for all forest fires until restoration returns the conditions to “Low-Intensity-Fire Conditions,” and, “Use planes to fight fires, even if they are military planes,” and, “To effect faster fire response time, District Fire Managers should be given authority to contract with local fire suppression equipment operators who have suitable equipment on standby and know the area,” and, “Use all equipment available.  (Erosion and run off will be multiple times worse if the fire takes thousands of acres.  This is ridiculous. Use everything available,”  FCWG

“The Forest Service should fight fires aggressively using all the tools and crews available.”  WWG

“Emphasis on 'quick response' to suppress fire.”  SWAN LAKE

Promote forest health

“Timber harvest and other vegetative manipulation are major tools through which Flathead National Forest landscapes are managed to restore and maintain plant communities and wildlife habitats.”  FFP

“Restore forest health by aggressively using science based forest management,” and, “Healthy forests equal viable wildlife populations across the landscape, clean and healthy watersheds and fisheries.  The citizens of the Flathead desire proactive forest management to restore forest health with priority on the science of forest management,” and, “Maintaining All forest values (watersheds, wildlife, air and water quality, recreation) depend upon a healthy forest,” and, “To achieve healthy forests and watersheds requires an amount of wood fiber per acre be removed that equals the annual growth per acres plus the annual mortality per acre.  The Forest Plan should use such a guideline for alternatives,” and, “implement the Healthy Forest Initiative immediately and inform the community of specific actions that are the result.”  FCWG

“Within the Forest Plan, emphasize the urgency to provide programs (e.g., stewardship and inter-agency cooperative programs) for forest health and treatment of fuels in the ·Forest, utilizing removed or thinned (such as dead, down and thinned trees) materials of commercial value to help finance the treatment”   SWAN LAKE

Stop closing and obliterating roads

“We must have access to put fires out..” and, “Do not include Amendment 19 as direction for grizzly bears in the new Forest Plan…” and, “Culvert blowouts are unacceptable management outcomes, when the use of appropriate technology that still leaves the road usable (e.g., bridges, better designed culverts) can avoid and mitigate effects and allow for multiple-use activities, within certain fish and wildlife constraints.”  SWAN LAKE

“Conduct a public meeting with comments mandatory before any road closures are mandated.  A majority vote should determine road status…” and, “List the reasons why a road is closed and review them once a year.  If the need for closure is no longer valid, the road should be opened…” and, “Forest plans should not be amended without a public hearing process and concurrence by local elected officials that it will have no economic impact.,,” and, “Stop decommissioning roads and removing culverts. Remove all berms…” and, “restore decommissioned roads and restore culverts or install rolling swales in place of them…” and, “Require Forest Service to keep and maintain roads…” and, “Publish for public comment and open process all proposals to close roads.  No instantaneous closing of roads…” and, “Stop all decommissioning of roads.  Roads need to be maintained (either gated closed or open) to have access for fire fighting, human emergency, logging, recreation, etc.”   FCWG

“Roads should not be obliterated…”and, “All roads will be maintained at BMP standards…” and, “Carry over all access from the current forest plan in 2B areas for motorized access in the new forest plan, and identify them…” and, “No net loss of miles of open roads.  Reverse the trend to be one of opening roads.  Use seasonal and rotational closures.”  WWG

Encourage development of commercial utilization of biomass or other currently non-commercial woody materials that presently constitute a fire fuel hazard.

“Implement effective Biomass Removal rules and procedures.  Biomass is a way to go for a long term solution to fuel buildup!”  FCWG

“Make economic use of the removed material coming out of fuel reduction.”  SWAN LAKE

“Commercial use of previously underutilized wood products and waste materials is encouraged and investment in new utilization processes is fostered.”  FFP

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE THERE WERE SEVERAL AREAS WHERE TWO OF THE GROUPS ISSUED SIMILAR STATEMENTS 

FCWG and WWG do not want current forest plan amendments, especially # 19(road density in grizzly habitat) and the proposed #24( snowmobile access), automatically rolled over into the new plan without close scrutiny and revision

FCWG and WWG support a minimum sale quantity in addition to a reasonable ASQ.