The Galton Project
The Kootenai NF will be doing site specific planning
on all of the forest east of HWY 93 plus some lands around Dickey
Lake and Ant Flat. This area contains the Ten Lakes Wilderness
Study Area and extensive Inventoried Roadless Areas. Montana
Wilderness Assoc. is pushing hard to turn most of it into
wilderness. Presently snowmobiling is permitted inside the WSA.
There is a very real threat of a reduction in motorized access in
this area. You can find out more <HERE>
03/08
SAVE THE WEST
A new organization, separate from MFMU, has been
formed to oppose NREPA.
SAVE THE WEST has created a website
to inform the American public about the plight of our western
states. SAVE THE WEST plans to advertise the website in the
home districts of the congressmen on the House subcommittee that is
hearing H.R. 1975, NREPA. SAVE THE WEST needs your help.
You can go to their website at http://www.savethewest.net
07/07
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Trading Wilderness for Jobs and Recreation
Montana Wilderness Association and other
environmental organizations have enticed local recreationists and
lumber mills to join them in sponsoring wilderness legislation with
a promise of jobs and recreation. The problem is that every
proposal we have seen has little or nothing more than promises for
jobs and recreation. These proposals will create new
wilderness on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Kootenai, and Lolo national
forests in Montana. We believe more proposals are planned.
Go >HERE<
to learn more 07/07
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NREPA
Northern
Rockies Ecosystem
Protection Act
THE HEARING WAS HELD OCTOBER 18,
2007
No further action has been taken as of 3/28/08
NREPA has been
re-introduced in Congress. This time it might have a chance to
pass. NREPA is the giant wilderness bill that has been
introduced in every session of congress since 1992. It would :
Please tell your congressmen that we have
enough wilderness and don't need this massive wilderness bill forced
on the good people of these western states.
NREPA is partial implementation of The
Wildlands Project in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Go >HERE<
to learn more about NREPA and about what you can do to stop
it. SAVE THE WEST also has a website dedicated to
defeating NREPA at www.savethewest.net
03/08
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North Lincoln County Chapter
Recognizing that the USFS does not listen to
individual concerns, Montanans in the Eureka and Fortine area have
organized a chapter of MFMU. The North Lincoln County Chapter
will focus on local forest concerns as well as support MFMU on the
larger issues. In addition to organization building,
NLCC's first challenges will be the Graves Creek Road repairs, Ten
Lakes planning analysis, and the Lincoln County Coalition plan to
add more wilderness to the Kootenai NF. Members of NLCC will
have all the benefits of full membership in MFMU. Go to the NLCC
home on this website to learn more. 3/07
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2007
Montana Legislature
We now have a Bill Watch-List which helps
you keep abreast of proposed legislation in Helena. On these
pages you will find bill numbers, short titles, bill summaries,
committee hearing information, links to the legislature and other
tools that you can use to make informed comments to the legislature.
We also have a section on the Watch-List for federal
legislation
We have also compiled a spreadsheet of all voting records
of the 2005 Montana Legislature for 11 bills that will or would have
impacted multiple use and public access. You can see how your
representative voted > HERE <
Soon we will add a scorecard for 2007 03/08
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The
USFS Inventories Recreation Sites
The USFS has been inventorying all recreation sites in
the nation under a directive called Recreation Site Facility Master
Planning (RSFMP). They have been ordered to close sites that
do not pay for themselves. Seven forests in Montana will hold
hearings on their plans in January and February of 2004. Many
forests are also looking at raising fees at sites that remain
open. USFS has been doing this in the dark without
congressional oversight, NEPA involvement or public input. It
is imperative that the public turn out in large numbers to give
their opinion on raising recreation fees and closing
sites. Please go HERE to learn more about this threat
to our recreation. 12/12/06
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Roadless Rule Yo-Yo
The Clinton Roadless Area Conservtion Rule (RACR) is
up and the Bush repeal and replacement of that rule is
down.
In
October, 2006, a federal judge in California threw out the Bush
Roadless Rule and reinstated the Clinton Roadless Area Conservation
Rule (RACR). This decision was appealed.
Shortly after the overthrow of the Bush rule, the Governor
of Idaho petitioned the Secretary of Agriculture for changes to
roadless management in Idaho. He bypassed both Bush and
Clinton roadless rules and made his request under the Administrative
Procedures Act. This may be a useful tool for states in the
future. 12/2/06
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Primary Election Results
There was another ballot question
on the Flathead County June Primary in 2006. Although the ballot question has no
statutory effect, it gives us a good idea of how Flathead County
feels about roadless area restrictions.
The ballot read:
There
are 6.4 million acres of National Forest managed as Roadless in
Montana. Should that forest land:
Be
managed by the Forest Service for multiple use purposes including motorized recreation and roaded timber production?
OR
Be managed by the Forest Service for multiple use purposes including
non-motorized
recreation and roadless
timber production?
63% of the voters supported multiple
use by choosing the
The vote was 11060 for motorized and
roaded and 6551 for non-motorized and roadless use.
6/06
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Forest Plan Revision
Both KIPZ and WMPZ
have released their Draft Forest Plan. The comment periods are
over and they are working on the Final EIS. The FEIS for all
of these forests.is on hold pending a legal decision on the Bush
Planning Rule which has been enjoined by a federal judge. This
plan was processed under the Bush rule. Depending on the legal
outcome, it may have to be redone.
When the FEIS is
issued their will be a 30 day objection period after which changes
may be made and the Record of Decision (ROD) issued. Appeals
are not allowed under the new planning regulations. After the
ROD, we have to live with the plan or take it to court. 03/08
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FLATHEAD
FOREST PLAN REVISION
The Flathead Forest has finally begun to revise its
forest plan. FNF has combined with the Bitteroot and Lolo
forests for this planning project. They call it WMPZ for
Western Montana Planning Zone. WMPZ has already issued
the proposed action. Go
here to see our comments on the proposal. Several local
groups on the three forests have been organized to formulate local
input for the plans. Go here to
learn more about public input. The Draft
EIS has been released .
WE WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE NEW PLAN FOR THE
NEXT 15 TO 20 YEARS. THE PLANS WILL DETERMINE WHAT WE CAN DO
AND WHERE WE CAN DO IT ON NATIONAL FOREST LANDS IN NORTHWEST
MONTANA. THE PAID ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS ARE WORKING HARD TO
RALLY THEIR SUPPORTERS AND GET THEIR MESSAGE TO THE FOREST
PLANNERS.
Dept of Interior issued new forest planning
regulations which have been enjoined by a federal judge. The WMPZ planning team used the new
regulations and they are now awaiting the outcome of legal appeals
to learn if they can issue the Final EIS or will have to redo it. Follow the link below to learn about the new
regulations.
There is only one alternative in the draft and
it will be handled as a categorical exclusion to NEPA.
The Draft version of the plan is not good for multiple use. The Flathead N.F.
is recommending an entire new wilderness area that is very close to
the proposed wilderness that Montana Wilderness Assoc. is pushing
hard. The MWA proposed wilderness that they call the Winton
Wedemeyer, will lock up 66,000 acres on the Flathead NF. It butts up against the Canadian border between
Eureka and Glacier Park. With this action FNF will
lock up these lands indefinitely with the same regulations as
congressionally approved wilderness like the Bob Marshall.
Recent snowmobile closures in the upper North Fork on the Flathead
will acquire more permanency with this recommendation.
There is more.
The suitable timber base will be cut in half on FNF,
motorized use will be further restricted and a number of creeks will
be recommended as "Wild, Scenic or Recreational Rivers".
Of course there is a package of restrictions that go with these
recommendations as well and the recommendations take effect without
congressional approval.
It appears that all of the forests in Region 1 are marching in
lockstep to environmentalist tunes and turning a deaf ear to our
concerns.
The Final EIS is on hold
THE EVENTUAL REMEDY
MUST COME FROM CONGRESS OR THE COURTS. 03/08
WEDEMEYER
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ON FOREST PLANNING
Kootenai
Forest Planning
KOOTENAI and IDAHO PANHANDLE NATIONAL. FOREST PLAN REVISIONS
BEGIN
The Kootenai is workng with the Idaho
Panhandle on a joint plan revision for both forests. They call it KIPZ.
The KNF has released
the Draft EIS. The comment period is over.
Wilderness
On Again?
The new KNF
supervisor left some hints in an interview with Michael Jamision of
the Missoulian that he may reverse Bob Castenada's decision to not
recommend areas for wilderness but place them in a special KNF
protected de-facto wilderness management category. THIS
WOULD OVERTURN THE SMALL VICTORY WE WON WHEN CASTENADA MOVED THESE
LANDS FROM RECOMMENDED WILDERNESS TO WILDLANDS.
Supervisor Paul Bradford mentioned
the thousands of form letters from environmental groups that
KNF received urging wilderness recommendation. This is another
example of how important it is to keep up the pressure on the
agencies. These will battles will go on and on until one side
gives up or is completely defeated.
These documents are now available from the Kootenai Forest Office in Libby,
MT. Write to:
USDA Forest Service
ATTN: KIPZ Revision Team
1101 U.S. Hwy. 2 West
Libby, MT 59923
or email to r1_kipz_revision@fs.fed.us
You can view the documents on the Kootenai website at www.fs.fed.us/kipz
You can also find at link at that site to the notes and input
statements of the Kootenai working groups.
The topics to be covered in the revision
process are:
Federal law requires that the Forest
Plan be revised every 10 years. The AMS says that the plan needs to be
revised because of changes in laws, regulations and policy, social
values and science
As expected the Draft Plan devotes a lot of time and
space to "new perspectives" in forest management policy,
including the buzzwords "ecosystem management" and
"sustainability". The Forest Service no longer manages the
forest it manages people. It has changed its forest ethic from
conservation to preservation. Conservation is the management and
utilization of a resource over time. Preservation concerns itself with
restoring the land to a pre-human condition and keeping it there,
untouched by human hands. The forest service no longer works for the
citizens who pay them but for the environmentalists who sue them. The goal
is no longer utilization of a resource but preservation of an imaginary
environment that exists only in the minds of environmental activists and
their friends.
We need to focus our comments to bring forest operations
back to a conservation ethic of managing the forest for the present and
future benefit of our citizens.
KIPZ has decided to use the new
planning rules which bypass NEPA . The Draft Map has already been
released and can be seen on our website HERE
>>.
The comment period on the Draft EIS is over and
the Final EIS is on hold pending a legal decision on the planning
process.
To learn more about this plan go
HERE >>
03/08
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PREVIOUS
Donations
Needed
MFMU has come to the
realization after years of comment letters, public meetings, press
releases, appeals to reason, and radio and tv appearances, that, in
order to effect the changes we desire to see on the public lands, we
must take our case to court. Lawsuits are expensive. We
have only three ways to raise the necessary funds. Memberships, fund
raisers like raffles, and direct appeals.
We have established
a new membership option. The Lifetime member will receive a handsome
belt buckle and plaque commemorating his or her contribution to the MFMU
legal fund. Learn more about
Lifetime memberships
Fundraisers are held
throughout the year and are announced in local media.
In addition to
memberships and fundraisers it is clear to us that we will need donations,
large and small, from a concerned public in order to be successful in our
legal pursuits. We have started a new charitable organization called
Montanans For Multiple Use Education Fund, MFMUEF or
just the Fund. Donations to the fund are tax
deductible.
If you can help,
please go to our donations
page for more information. 5/05
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Pending
NEPA Projects
NEPA stands for
National Environmental Protection Act. Not to be confused with NREPA,
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act or NFEPA, National Forest
Ecosystem Protection Act
These projects will need additional
comments in the near future. Be aware - keep posted by
returning often to this
page.
Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle
Forest Plan Revision
KIPZ has decided to use the new planning
rules. The
Draft Plan (DEIS) has been released and the comment period is
closed. The Final EIS is on hold pending a legal decision on
the planning process.
After it is released there will be a 30 day objection period before the ROD is
issued and the plan is implemented. Go to www.fs.fed.us/kipz
for more information or click on the link above. 03/08
The Flathead, Bitterroot and Lolo
Forest Plan Revision
WMPZ has released its draft plan and the
comment period is over. The Final EIS
is on hold.
After that there will be a 30 day objection period before the ROD is
issued and the plan is implemented. 03/08
