Update (4/07): In the last two years, the Forest Service has been writing new management plans for both the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests. These Forest Management Plans are the key: if they permit high-intensity development in the upper reaches of the Lolo Peak area, the agency may consider an application to develop the area as a resort. If the plans preserve those upper reaches, the Bitterroot Resort can only seek to amend the plan to have its application considered.
Many of us participated in the collaborative planning process during the summer of 2005, and the public comment period following the drafts’ release in 2006. We attended many meetings in the past year, sending a clear message to the Forest Service that we wanted those lands protected. The collaborative planning process was new for the Forest Service, part of the Bush Administration’s attempt to streamline the old planning process. In April, a district court overruled the changes, after Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club and Vermont Natural Resources Council filed a legal challenge. The following quote is from the press release announcing the district court ruling:
“A federal judge today rejected the Bush administration’s effort to remove key environmental protections from the rules governing the 191-million-acre National Forest System. (The ruling) invalidates regulations issued by the Bush administration in 2005 that sought to overhaul the land-management planning process for National Forests by eliminating mandatory protections for wildlife and clean water and removing public participation in the process. Among the measures discarded by the Bush administration was a key regulatory guarantee of wildlife viability in the National Forests that had been in place since the Reagan administration.
The judge’s ruling prohibits the Bush administration from “implementation and utilization” of the new forest planning rules.
The National Forest Management Act requires the Forest Service to protect wildlife on the national forests and allow citizens to participate in management decisions. The Bush rules invalidated the 1982 standards for national forest management that protected species and required public comment on national forest timber plans.”
So where does this leave those of us interested in protecting the Lolo Peak and Carlton Ridge landscape? According to the interim Regional Forester, Kathy McAllister, the Forest Service still plans to move ahead with the release the Final Management Plans in 2007. However, it is too soon to say what exactly will happen. It is possible that everything may change. We will keep you posted. For now, until the new plans are finalized, the old 1986 plan (which rejected the idea of a ski resort) guides management decisions for the area.
The Friends of Lolo Peak website continues to receive numerous inquiries as to what is going on with the proposed Bitterroot Resort and the Forest Service planning process. Part of this confusion comes from continuous advertising on the part of the proposed resort, which often makes it sound as if the project is a done deal on 12,000 acres of public land.
In truth, the Bitterroot Resort has yet to submit a project proposal to the Forest Service. Currently, the agency is reviewing public comment on the Draft Management Plans for the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests. In the Draft Plans, the Forest Service proposed that the public lands desired by the resort developers be kept in its natural condition, not redesignated for high-impact recreational development. The Forest Service plans to release the Final Management Plans in 2007. Once the plans are released, there will be a 30-day objection period. For more information visit the Western Montana Forest Planning Zone.
NEW Analysis of public comments reveals 80% oppose Bitterroot Resort.
Download the analysis >>
A Forest Service study based on a review of national, regional and local trends in the ski industry, population levels, and climate data revealed a lack of demand for additional skiing on the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests. Titled “Downhill Skiing Needs Assessment for the Bitterroot and Lolo Forest Plan Revisions”, the study concludes that current and projected trends “argue against the need to increase ski area capacity to accommodate growth in potential destination visitors to ski areas on the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests.”
Forest Service Draft Management Plans for Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests
To view the Draft Manangement Plans, click below:
Other Issues:
Nordic Resort Special Use Permit:
Tom Mclay’s application for a Special Use Permit to allow Nordic skiing is on hold pending the lawsuit filed against him by the Forest Service alleging illegal logging and roadbuilding on public land.
Alleged Illegal Logging on Public Land:
In February 2006, the USFS filed suit against Resort CEO Tom Maclay alleging illegal logging and road clearing. The complaint claims that MaClay cut 400 trees on public land, including valuable larch in the Research Natural Area on Carlton Ridge. It further alleges that 7 new roads on public land were constructed illegally. Read news coverage >>
Download the Complaint (pdf)
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