Environmentalists protest another timber project
Three environmental groups recently filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop forest thinning projects on the Flathead National Forest.
Many of the same arguments used in the current lawsuit were used in challenges to two timber projects at the south end of the Hungry Horse Reservoir, the Soldier Addition II and Spotted Bear River projects.
The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Wild Swan and the Native Ecosystems Council claim the Forest Service did not adequately analyze cumulative effects harmful to Canada lynx and bull trout that could result from the timber projects.
In the newest lawsuit, the environmentalists also claim the Forest Service did not provide accurate maps showing where 3,650 acres of pre-commercial thinning would take place.
Flathead Forest environmental coordinator Joe Krueger noted that the thinning project calls for removing trees that are 2-4 inches in diameter in thick, overgrown stands in order to improve growth and health of the remaining trees. No commercial logging will take place in the thinning project.
As for impacts to critical habitat for lynx and bull trout, Krueger the Forest Service “already have management direction in place to ensure the recovery of those species.” He said Forest staff met with the environmentalists on numerous occasions during the administrative appeal process.
The environmentalists say the Forest Service avoided needed analysis by using the categorical exclusion process.
“Based on the lack of information and analysis, as well as other issues we raised in our comments, we do not believe this project qualifies for a categorical exclusion,” said Arlene Montgomery, program director for Friends of the Wild Swan. “Extraordinary circumstances exist, and the Flathead Forest failed to take a hard look at the cumulative effects to sensitive, threatened and endangered species and other forest resources.”
Keith Hammer, chairman of the Swan View Coalition, which joined Friends of the Wild Swan in suing to stop the two federal timber projects at the south end of the Hungry Horse Reservoir, is also trying to stop a proposed mountain bike stage race to be held in the Tally Lake Ranger District.
In his four-page comment to the Forest Service, Hammer claimed the bike race will promote conflicts and collisions between cyclists and wildlife. The Swan View Coalition previously challenged a 100-mile trail-running race across the Swan Range in 2010.
Race organizers Craig Prather and Matt Butterfield filed for a special-use permit from the Forest Service to host the Reid Divide Bicycle Race on Aug. 3-5. The estimated number of participants is 65, with a maximum of 100.
About 34 miles of the bike race would be on Forest Service roads and the Reid Divide and Bill Creek trails near Tally Lake. All of the roads and trails are open to two-wheeled motorized travel in the summer, with the exception of a 2.1-mile section on Trail 801.
Flathead National Forest spokesperson Wade Muehlhof said nothing out of the ordinary was in the permit request and that minimal impact is anticipated. Tally Lake District Ranger Lisa Timchak made a preliminary determination that the permit did not need an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
Hammer, however, contends that bike racing and speed sports in general encourage reckless behavior that greatly increases the risk of negative encounters with wildlife.
Hammer cited his own experience mountain biking in Krause Basin of the Swan Mountains, when he was charged by a black bear sow defending two cubs.
“As I rounded a blind corner, the sow charged me and stopped only after I managed to stop my bike, a few feet short of my getting swatted if not mauled — which I most certainly would have been had I been biking any faster,” he wrote.
Hammer suggested the entire race be held on Big Mountain, where speed sports already have become established.