Outpouring of Public Support for Protecting Wild Places and Wildlife in New Helena-Lewis and Clark Forest Plan

Thousands urge the U.S. Forest Service to protect magnificent natural diversity on the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest in Montana

Additional contact:

Jeff Juel, WildLands Defense, 509-688-5956, jeffjuel@wildrockies.org


HELENA, MONT. – Over 8,500 Americans urged the U.S. Forest Service to do more to protect wilderness and wildlife as it begins revising the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest’s forest plan. The new plan will set a blueprint for managing the public lands in Western Montana over the next 10 to 15 years, or more.

The Forest Service currently manages the Helena-Lewis and Clark pursuant to 1986 forest plans, created before the two forests merged. Significant changes in conditions and demands on the forest over the past 30 years—including failing infrastructure, increasing fragmentation of wilderness and wildlife habitat, effects from climate change, and imperiled Canada lynx, grizzly bear, wolverine, and bull trout—call for revisions.

In December of 2016, the Forest Service announced its proposal to revise the plans and welcomed the first official round of input. The outpouring of public comments in response demonstrates that American citizens value our national forests for wilderness and wildlife, and would like to see the revised forest plan reflect those values.

“An over-sized and sprawling forest road system, ‘wreck’-reation abuse by off-road vehicles and snowmobiles, and changes in weather patterns due to climate change threaten the magnificent wild landscapes on the Helena-Lewis and Clark,” said Marla Fox, Rewilding Attorney at WildEarth Guardians. “Right now the Forest Service has an opportunity to create a vision for managing uses in a sustainable way, based in best available science. The public has been clear in asking for this vision.”

Next the Forest Service will consider the comments received, revise the draft plan and complete an environmental analysis. It will then ask for a second round of public comments, likely in the fall of 2017. Under the Forest Service’s 2012 planning rules it must create a forest plan that will provide for social, economic, and ecological sustainability.

“The 2012 planning rule requires the Forest Service to use the best available scientific information while revising the forest plan,” said Jeff Juel, Public Lands Coordinator at WildLands Defense. “We know far more about how nature works than when the original plans were written in the 1980s. Yet public input is crucial during this planning stage, to help the Forest Service identify the best science on wildlife ecology, climate change, water quality, soil productivity, and other components leading to ecological sustainability, which in turn is required for our human communities to survive,” he added. “So in the service of best available science, we urge the Forest Service to undergo their own Science Consistency Review process for this Forest Plan, as it has on national forests in Idaho, California, and Alaska,” he concluded. 

WildEarth Guardians submitted comments on behalf of 8,459 concerned citizens as well as technical comments highlighting the need to right-size the Helena-Lewis & Clark National Forest’s road system, establish a plan for sustainable recreation, and to conserve and recover bull trout, Canada lynx, wolverine, and grizzly bear.

Jeff Juel wrote technical comments on behalf of WildLands Defense, outlining the need for new direction and urging the Forest Service to, consider best available science, address the road system and wildland fire, protect native fish and wildlife, and to comply with the 2012 planning rule.

 

 


 

All active news articles