Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

The Helena - Lewis and Clark National Forest announced the release of its draft Forest Management Plan and draft environmental impact statement and the beginning of a 90-day public comment period on the documents June 8.

 "After three years and more than 40 community meetings the Forest has produced a comprehensive draft plan and draft EIS for public review and comment," Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest Supervisor Bill Avey said in a news release on the subject. "The four action alternatives outlined in the draft plan are a culmination of the latest science, the specialists' expertise, and the public's feedback that we have received over the past three years. We want to hear specific feedback from the public on what they have read in these documents." 

The forest plan revision process began in 2014 with a series of open houses in communities around the forest designed to get a feel for condtionson the forest and to evaluate which parts of the exisiing forest plan - which dates to 1986 - were working well and which were not.

A series of 10 public meetings to provide info on the forest plan revision process, answer questions and gather input, ideas and opinions on both the draft DEIS and the draft forest plan are scheduled for late July and early August in communities around the forest. The meeting will also provide information on who to stay involved in the planning process.

Lincoln Residents can take part in a meeting locally on July 30, when members of the Land and Resource Management planning team are slated to be at the Lincoln Community Hall from 5-7 p.m.

Information and maps on the draft DEIS and draft forest plan is available online at the forest plan revision website http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/hlc/forestplanrevision, or hard copies can be viewed at the Lincoln Library of at the Lincoln Ranger District office. A DVD of the documents is also available through the district office or by calling 406-449-5201.

The draft DEIS and draft forest plans were developed with input from workshops and meetings in communities around the HLC National Forest over the past three years.