Forest Service mulls road closures
The Kootenai National Forest is deciding which of the nearly 7,900 miles of roads within their jurisdiction they will be closing. As part of the process defined in the National Environmental Protection Act, the United States Forest Service is required to garner public input before moving forward with projects on the ground. For that purpose the agency will host four travel analysis open house meetings from Feb. 19 to Feb. 26.
Public Affairs Officer Willie Sykes said, “We’re trying to work with the public to find out roads that are important to them. If we can, we would like our decision to have the least adverse effects on the public as possible.”
The proposed closures are necessary to address budgetary constraints and to reduce environmental impacts while maintaining natural settings in some areas of the forest. Road analysis utilizes a science-based approach to transportation planning that takes into account current and future road management options while integrating ecological, economic and social concerns.
On the Kootenai National Forest’s website there is a link to a map of the forest with roads proposed for closure marked in red. By clicking on any of the roads a user can see the road number and distance it stretches.
The stated purpose of the website is to broaden the public’s ability to communicate with the Forest Service and others by linking comments to specific areas of the forest. Posted comments are then reviewed by the agency to inform their decision-making process.
Forest Service Staff Officer Malcolm Edwards called the analysis a 30,000-foot look at the forest’s road system. He said no site-specific decisions have been made. “Any change must go through a public scoping process, there have definitely not been any decisions made,” Edwards said.
There are two general classifications of roads on the road analysis map; roads likely needed for future use and roads likely not needed. More than 60 proposed closures ranging in length from one-tenth of a mile to one of more than six miles are shown. However, the majority are less than two miles long.
The only one in excess of six miles is along Blue Sky Creek in the Fortine Ranger District.
In the Libby Ranger District the bulk of roads proposed for closure are near Shafer Creek with seven roads totaling more than 11 miles in length proposed.
Another slew of proposed closures are just north of and within the Roderick Recommended Wilderness Area. The total proposed closures north of Roderick are nearly 14 miles of road and 9 miles within the proposed wilderness.
There appears to be only one closure proposed in the Cabinet Ranger District.
Edwards said, “It’s a given that we don’t have all the resources to maintain all of the roads in our jurisdiction.” To maintain access for recreation and future resource management public participation can help the Forest Service make decisions affecting local residents and visitors to the forest.
The upcoming meetings are Feb. 19 at the Three Rivers Ranger District, Feb. 24 at the Cabinet Ranger District, Feb. 25 at the Supervisor’s Office in Libby and Feb. 26 at Riverstone in Eureka. All meetings are slated for 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. For those unable to view the map online, a hardcopy will be presented at the public meetings.