Forest Plan's proposed action due out next month

The Flathead National Forest is expected to release the proposed action for a new Forest Plan early next month.

The target date for publication is March 6, Forest officials told North Fork residents last week during a North Fork Interlocal Agreement meeting.

The first public meeting on the Forest Plan is scheduled for March 17 in Kalispell. Forest officials will take public comments for 45 days and then release a draft document with different alternatives in 2015. The final plan is expected to be completed in late 2016.

Many of the North Fork residents at the meeting expressed hope that the Forest Plan would reflect work by the Whitefish Range Partnership, a group with diverse interests who proposed land management decisions for Flathead Forest land east of the Whitefish Range divide. Their proposals included a timber base, new wilderness and areas for motorized and non-motorized recreation.

The group worked outside the parameters of a formal collaborative process the Forest Service set up last year, when several public meetings and working groups were held to gather information for a new Forest Plan.