Flathead Wild and Scenic River: Scoping for the Comprehensive River Management Plan

Kalispell, MT, July 31, 2019- The Flathead National Forest, in coordination with Glacier National Park, is beginning the scoping process for the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) for the Flathead Wild and Scenic River.

 The proposed action document discusses potential management direction and information on the desired conditions for the Flathead River segments. The public is asked to pay particular attention to how the desired condition statements as well as the proposed monitoring indicators, thresholds and triggers protect and preserve Outstanding Remarkable Value’s for the three forks of the Flathead River system presently and into the future. This is the foundation of the CRMP and will inform management actions and inform how the user capacity process will be done. More information on the Flathead Wild & Scenic River Comprehensive River Management Plan can be found at: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/crmp.

 The proposed action can also be accessed at the Flathead National Forest NEPA page (Flathead Comprehensive River Management Plan): www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=56536.

 Hard copies of the proposed action document are also available for review at the Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger Station (10 Hungry Horse Drive, Hungry Horse, MT, 59919) or at the Forest Supervisor’s Office (650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell, MT 59901).

 The public can provide us comments by doing the following:

• Email comments to: comments-northern-flathead@usda.gov. Acceptable formats include MS Word, RTF, or PDF.
• Fill in an electronic form by going to the same Flathead National Forest NEPA page (see above) and selecting “Comment/Object on Project” on the right hand side of the screen.
• Hand-deliver or mail comments to the Hungry Horse-Glacier View Ranger Station in Hungry Horse or the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Kalispell (see above for addresses).

 To assure your comments are fully considered during this scoping phase of the project, we request that you submit comments by September 13, 2019. Additional comments are welcome throughout the planning process.

 Two public open house meetings will provide further information about this project will occur on August 13 and 20, 2019, from 6 pm to 8 pm at the lower level of the Arts and Technology Building at Flathead Valley Community College.