Ousted Spotted Bear District Ranger speaks out

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

The former Spotted Bear district ranger claims he was removed from his post last spring, in part for trying to protect the Bob Marshall Wilderness’ natural values.

Last April, Scott Snelson was quietly transferred from his post at the Spotted Bear District to a desk job at the Flathead National Forest headquarters at the behest of then Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele. Snelson finished his career as a staff officer of recreation, engineering, heritage and land. He retired a few weeks ago.

Snelson had a long career with the Forest Service before being named district ranger in 2017, including a background as a fisheries biologist. He has both his bachelor and master of science degrees from Montana State University in biological sciences.

Early in his career he worked as a U.S. Forest Service trail-crew foreman in the Bob Marshall Wilderness out of Spotted Bear and Big Prairie, and as a firefighter.

He expected to spend his final years of his career managing one of the most coveted ranger districts in the U.S. The Spotted Bear is more than 1 million acres, with 850,000 of those acres part of the 1.6 million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex.

But instead of being a dream job, it became increasingly difficult under Steele’s leadership, Snelson told the Hungry Horse News in an interview last week.

There were myriad conflicts with Steele, he said, including a dispute over an outfitter’s permit. Snelson canceled the outfitter’s permit after what he claimed were multiple violations.

“If you can’t follow the contract, you can’t be operating” in the wilderness, Snelson said.

But Steele, he claimed, trumped him, and reinstated the outfitter. Snelson declined to name the business, noting it had apparently been sold.

But the conflicts didn’t end there, Snelson said.

There were also resource management issues, including disagreements on how best to manage the South Fork of the Flathead’s coveted bull trout fishery.

Snelson claimed he and his staff advocated for a conservative approach when it came to river usage and permitting in order to protect bull trout, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Fishermen can, however, catch and release bull trout under a special catch card program through Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It is one of the few places where an angler can legally fish for the species.

Snelson claimed that Steele wanted to see hard impacts from increased pressure, rather than to be initially conservative by regulating angling on the river. In short, Snelson claimed Steele wanted to max out pressure until they saw a decline in the fishery.

“It’s a risky strategy,” Snelson said, adding, “In my view, the public was best served by a conservative approach.”

That went for the Comprehensive River Management plan, as well. Snelson claimed he and staff, as well as the public, put in many hours on the plan, taking a conservative approach to management of the Wild and Scenic South Fork, only to have Steele reject their ideas.

“Steele came in and ran it into the ditch,’” Snelson alleged.

Steele did not respond to a direct request for comment.

Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Kira Powell said the Forest Service takes outfitter violations seriously.

“We take issues surrounding non-compliance of any special-use permit seriously. We follow the administrative process to correct any validated non-compliance issues with the permittee,” she said in a statement to the Hungry Horse News.

As to the river issues, she conceded there have been delays in the river plans.

“There have been delays in completing the draft plan. Timelines have been adjusted, but we’re making progress again. We hope to have a completed draft within the next few months,” she said. “This river system offers such a diverse array of recreational experiences. Planning involves consideration of potential environmental impacts as well as the wide array of user experiences from primitive experiences with opportunities for solitude to more developed recreational opportunities.”

Snelson said he is able to speak more freely of his tenure at Spotted Bear now that he is retired. But he didn’t entirely blame Steele. He said it went higher up the ranks.

“He [Steele] didn’t do anything controversial without checking into the regional office,” Snelson claimed.

Snelson said he’s not trying to be a martyr, but noted that district rangers have little recourse under Forest Service policy of “directed reassignment” — he could have either taken the job at headquarters, retire or be fired.

The Forest Service, for its part, never made a public announcement that Snelson had been removed last spring.

Forester Paul Donnelon oversaw Spotted Bear after Snelson was removed, Powell said.

A replacement for Snelson was announced this week.

Adam LaDell, from the Carson National Forest in New Mexico where he served as the Questa district ranger since 2021, will take over as Spotted Bear district ranger.

LaDell is originally from Wisconsin. He started his career with the Forest Service as a wilderness ranger on the Inyo National Forest in California, and over the course of the last 15 years held positions in Wyoming, Arizona, and most recently New Mexico.

Steele is gone as well. He took a post as a deputy directorship position in ecosystem planning in June.

Steele’s tenure came under intense scrutiny after a controversial move to allow expansion at Holland Lake Lodge just outside the Bob Marshall Wilderness, with minimal environmental review. A host of local citizens objected and later revealed that the lodge’s existing septic system was leaking into the lake and is inadequate, nevermind suitable for expansion.

Steele also allowed for continued dispersed camping at Blankenship Bridge. That, too, saw significant local opposition, as the campers were getting stuck into the Middle Fork (most notably a school bus)  and the river is part of the Wild and Scenic River system.

Snelson said he plans on making formal ethics complaints to the Forest Service. He also said he plans on staying active with Forest Service issues as a member of the public.

“I plan on staying engaged,” he said.

His advice for the public? If they have concerns they should make them known, not only to the local offices, but the regional offices and federal lawmakers.

This story has been corrected. There was an error in the transfer from print to the web which caused it to initially repeat.