Forest Service Schedules Helena Hearing on Three-Forest Logging Proposal

The U.S. Forest Service has scheduled a public hearing in Helena for April 1 on a proposal that would consolidate logging authority across more than 925,000 acres of three national forests, including the Helena-Lewis and Clark that surrounds the capital city.

The Helena-Lewis and Clark District announced the hearing on March 4, framing it as an opportunity for affected communities to weigh in on the proposed Tri-Forest Sustained-Yield Unit, which would span portions of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Helena-Lewis and Clark, and Custer Gallatin national forests.

The draft plan has drawn criticism from public land advocates who argue it narrows the mission of the national forests to a single purpose. "This plan says that timber production is the only use of the national forest," said Bader, as quoted in reporting by the Missoulacurrent. Bader also questioned why the Forest Service needs a new sustained-yield plan at all, given that individual Forest Plans already govern timber production and set logging limits for each forest. "There are already Forest Plans in place, and they set sustained yield and how much logging there can be but (Forest Plans) also include things like how they need to manage roads for wildlife," Bader said. "A number of public land advocates question why the Forest Service needs a sustained-yield plan if these areas are already laid out in the individual forest plans. They say (the sustained-yield plan is) consistent with the Forest Plan so why not go with the Forest Plan?"

Chiara Cipriano, spokeswoman for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, pushed back on concerns about procedural changes, saying the sustained-yield plan changed nothing regarding NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act that governs federal environmental review.

The April 1 hearing is designed, in the Forest Service's framing, to inform affected communities about the proposal and give the public a formal opportunity to provide input before any decision is made. The exact time and location of the Helena hearing had not been specified in the Forest Service's release as of this report.

The proposed unit would be one of the largest consolidated timber planning areas in the region. The 925,000-acre footprint spans three forests that collectively cover much of southwest and south-central Montana, including land that many Helena residents hike, hunt, and rely on for watershed protection. Questions about how the sustained-yield unit would interact with, or potentially supersede, the wildlife and road management provisions embedded in each forest's individual plan remain central to the public debate heading into the April hearing.