Rehberg in Libby on Saturday for listening session

U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg has scheduled a listening session on Sen. Jon Tester’s Forest Jobs and Recreation Act in Libby for Saturday, Jan. 15.

The event is scheduled to run from 3-4:30 p.m., at Libby High School's Ralph Tate Gymnasium (moved from the previously announced Ponderosa Room location).

Tester’s bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, would add 600,000 acres of Montana wilderness and set aside specific areas for recreation, trails and logging.

Rehberg had already staged listening sessions in Ennis, Dillon, Butte, Phillipsburg and Deer Lodge and last week decided to add Libby to the list of communities where he would like to hear viewpoints. In all, it will be the 22nd public meeting Rehberg has held on the subject of wilderness designation since the beginning of the year.

“Hearing directly from Montanans has already proven invaluable,” Rehberg said in a press release. “These sessions are an important first step to finding a consensus-based solution for our need to actively manage forests while also protecting regions of wilderness for future generations. I look forward to hearing what the folks in Libby have to say.”

The listening session is open to all members of the public and press. Rehberg will take comments and questions from anyone who wishes to be heard.

The Ponderosa Room at City Hall is located at 952 E. Spruce St.