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Forest Plan Amendments Archive
This is an archival page containing documents and information of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Forest Plan Amendments. Click here for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Amendments.
Amendments to incorporate relevant direction from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy into the forest plans for the Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, and Lolo National Forests
The Forest Service is amending the land management plans (forest plans) of the Helena, Lewis and Clark, Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests to incorporate relevant direction from the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy (GBCS) to support a recovered grizzly bear population in the NCDE.
Photo credit: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Purpose of these Amendments
The purpose of the amendment is to incorporate relevant portions from the NCDE GBCS into the forest plans for the Helena-Lewis and Clark, Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests (also referred to as “amendment forests”) to have an integrated set of plan direction (referred to as plan components) consistent across the national forests that are a part of the NCDE.
Need for the Amendments
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, federal agencies are directed to use their authorities to seek to conserve endangered and threatened species. The amendment forests’ associated plans (Helena National Forest, approved by the Regional Forester in 1986; Kootenai National Forest, approved by the Regional Forester in 2015, Lewis and Clark National Forest, approved by the Regional Forester in 1986; and Lolo National Forest, approved by the Regional Forester in 1986), have management direction related to grizzly bear habitat, to support recovery of the threatened grizzly bear.
Since the development of this planning direction, the grizzly bear population in the NCDE has met and exceeded recovery goals. In particular, habitat conditions and management on the national forests have contributed importantly to the increased population size and improved status of the grizzly bear across the NCDE. To support a healthy, recovered grizzly population the Forest Services’ continued, effective management of the NCDE grizzly bear's habitat is necessary.
In 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the availability of a draft GBCS for the NCDE population for public review and input. When finalized, the GBCS would become the post-delisting management plan for the NCDE grizzly bears and their habitat. By incorporating the relevant habitat-related direction from the NCDE GBCS into forest plans, the proposed amendments will demonstrate to the USFWS that adequate regulatory mechanisms exist on national forests within the NCDE to support delisting this grizzly population. Thus, the amendment forests need to amend their forest plans and incorporate the relevant desired conditions, standards, guidelines, and monitoring items related to habitat management on NFS lands in the NCDE to show that the amendment forests have adequate regulatory mechanisms in place to contribute to sustaining a recovered grizzly bear population.
Role of the Flathead National Forest
The Flathead NF (which also lies within the NCDE) is concurrently proposing to incorporate the relevant portions of the NCDE GBCS as part of its plan revision process. Information regarding the revision of the Flathead National Forest forest plan can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/fpr. The Flathead NF planning team, in addition to conducting the plan revision, is coordinating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) effort for the amendment with the Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, and Lolo National Forests.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
The staff of the Flathead National Forest released the draft environmental impact statement in May 2016 for the Flathead National Forest draft revised forest plan and draft forest plan amendments to incorporate habitat management direction for grizzly bears for the Helena-Lewis and Clark, Lolo, and Kootenai National Forests. These documents reflect extensive public participation over the past 3 years through collaborative working group meetings and other public input. We greatly appreciate the commitment of interested participants who have provided important contributions toward the development of the draft forest plan and amendments.
Links to documents
The full text of the draft forest plan and volumes 1 and 2 of the DEIS can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/fpr.
Volume 3 of the DEIS can be linked to here: Volume 3—DEIS for the Forest Plan Amendments and associated appendixes:
- Appendix 6—Draft Forest Plan Amendments to incorporate relevant direction from the NCDE Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy for the Helena, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, and Lolo National Forests. Includes a glossary.
- Appendix 7—Alternative Comparison for the amendments by National Forest
Additional maps for the DEIS are found in Appendix 1—Maps.
Comment period ended
The 120-day comment period ended on October 3, 2016. Comments will help us to identify the range of issues to be addressed and the significant concerns related to the draft plan, draft amendments, and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). Comments will assist the interdisciplinary team in developing a preferred alternative and in the analysis and documentation of the environmental and social effects of the proposed plan components and alternatives, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures.
Comments can be viewed in the reading room: [reading room link no longer active]
The comment period commenced with the publication in the Federal Register (June 3, 2016) of the Notice of Availability. Only those individuals and entities who have submitted substantive formal comments related to the Flathead National Forest plan revision and the four amendments during the opportunities provided for public comment will be eligible to file an objection (36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 219.53(a)). The decision to approve the revised forest plan for the Flathead National Forest and the amendment for the Helena, Lewis and Clark, Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests will be subject to the objection process identified in 36 CFR Part 219 Subpart B (219.50 to 219.62). Comments must be received or postmarked within 120 days of the publication of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Comments received in response to this solicitation, including names and addresses of those who comment, will be part of the public record. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the respondent with standing to participate in subsequent administrative or judicial reviews.
For further information about the project, contact Project Leader Joe Krueger, at 406-758-5243.
The links to the individual forest maps are below:
Supporting Documents and Links
Proposed Action
Click here for the proposed action (plan components for the amendment). The proposed plan components will be analyzed in a draft environmental impact statement expected to be released in April 2016. The following map shows the grizzly bear management zones within the NCDE.
Draft Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy
News Release July 17, 2015 - Public Comments on the Proposed Action