Guardians, allies, and more than 4,000 American citizens are calling on the U.S. Forest Service to amend its misguided revised forest plan for the Flathead National Forest, as well as its directions for managing grizzly bear habitat in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.
The Flathead National Forest covers 2.4 million acres of public lands west and south of Glacier National Park in Montana and is home to imperiled grizzly bears, Canada lynx, wolverine, and bull trout. The revised forest plan will become the blueprint for managing the Flathead during the next 10-15 years. The new grizzly bear habitat direction will apply to 5.1 million acres of public lands across five forests in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.
In past versions of the forest plan, the Forest Service promised to preserve grizzly bear habitat by returning 500 miles of crumbling forest roads to the wild, but the agency is reneging on this promise and putting the Flathead’s wildlife at the mercy of motorized users. In an era where Trump is seeking to take the public out of public lands, it’s time for the Forest Service to heed public concerns, listen, and revise this plan.
Read the press release.
