County backs Forest Service in Ripley Project lawsuit

Local elected officials and community organizers are linking arms in opposition to a legal challenge to a controversial U.S. Forest Service project near Libby.

In filing a lawsuit against the Ripley Project on Sept. 21, leaders of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies claimed road construction and timber harvests included in the proposed work could harm local grizzly bear habitat. Local officials fired back, arguing the project was necessary to reduce wildfire risks along one of the most populated corridors in Lincoln County.

To show support for the Forest Service, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners signed onto the lawsuit as an intervenor during an Oct. 13 meeting. Intervention allows a third party with a stake in an open civil case to join the suit.

The American Forest Resource Council, a trade association based in Portland, Ore., and the Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition, a local resource management organization, have offered legal support in favor of the project, according to Mark Peck, shared stewardship coordinator with the county port authority. Peck expected the State of Montana would soon join the suit.

Nearly 5,000 acres, or 40 percent, of the proposed treatments in the Ripley Project fall within the wildland-urban interface. The interface, as defined in the Lincoln County Community Wildfire protection plan, delineates a transition zone between forested areas at risk of wildfire and developed properties. With the Libby Airport and many private residences near this zone, local officials worry that the area could turn into a tinderbox without the treatment work proposed in the Ripley Project.

“Ripley is in the city limits — it’s urban interface along the most populated urban area in Lincoln County," Peck said.

Environmentalists with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies have argued for halting forestry work in the area, pointing to the Ripley Project’s proximity to the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Recovery Zone and the Cabinet Face Bears Outside Recovery Zone.

The Ripley Project would include 10,854 acres of timber harvest, 1,544 acres of non-commercial treatment and 148 acres of old-growth treatment. To increase access, Forest Service officials anticipate building 13 miles of system road and six miles of temporary road. The project calls for maintenance on 93 miles of existing road.

In the lawsuit filed in Missoula federal district court, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies claims the Ripley Project covers critical habitat and migratory routes for isolated and inbred local grizzlies. Researchers have tracked at least three male bears passing through the Ripley Project area in the past five to seven years, according to court documents.

Local officials have objected to the characterization of the area as prime bear habitat. Peck noted that the corridor between one of the recovery zones and the Ripley Project contains around 7,000 residents, U.S. Highway 2, a state highway, the Libby Airport and a shooting range.

Some opinion pieces that have circulated in the weeks since the Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed the lawsuit contain misinformation, according to Chad Benson, Kootenai National Forest supervisor.

"I don't know if you've seen the latest op-eds about [the Ripley Project]," Benson told commissioners during an Oct. 6 meeting. "The [Alliance for the] Wild Rockies put billboards up in Missoula, they've got a picture of a ginormous decimated clearcut on Orange Street in Missoula saying don't hack the Yaak."

Commissioners’ decision to sign on to the lawsuit comes at no cost to the county. Remarking on the severity of the 2020 fire season, Commissioner Brent Teske (D-1) argued efforts like the Ripley Project are essential to protecting Lincoln County.

“The things that seem to be considered second nature to the grizzly bear [are] public health, the [wildland-urban interface], private property, industry. All the things that affect the area,” he said. “We’re not just looking to slay trees to make boards to make money.”

Before approving the decision, Commissioner Jerry Bennett noted the county has a history of intervening in lawsuits. Teske offered a motion and Commissioner Josh Letcher (D-3) provided a second. The vote was unanimous.