HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-01-19 City Commission Packet Materials - SP1. Custer Gallatin National Forest Plan Revision
Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project (March 2019)
The Gallatin National Forest conducted a landscape assessment in 2004 involving 130,000 acres in the
Sourdough/Hyalite Creek drainages, which are part of the Bozeman municipal watershed. The assessment looked at
risks for wildland fire and identified trends for noxious weeds, fish and wildlife, watershed, and forest health. Two
additional studies were conducted in the municipal watershed by local governments. One was a water source
protection study, done for the City of Bozeman, and the second was done by the Bozeman Watershed Council for
Gallatin County. Both studies identified fuels treatment as a high priority for the protection of the watershed.
The Forest Service and the City of Bozeman signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2005 to establish a framework
for cooperation between the parties to maintain (in the long term) a high quality, predictable water supply for Bozeman
through cooperative efforts in part by implementing sustainable land management practices.
Based upon the outcome of the assessments, the Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project was identified. The
preliminary goal and objectives for the project include:
Goal - Maintain (in the long term) a high-quality, predictable water supply for Bozeman through cooperative
efforts with the City of Bozeman in implementing sustainable land management practices.
Objectives
Implement vegetation management projects that will begin to reduce the severity and extent of
wildland fires in the Bozeman and Hyalite Municipal Watersheds.
Focus on treatments that will begin to reduce the risk of excess sediment and ash reaching the
municipal water treatment plant in the event of a severe wildland fire.
Provide for firefighter and public safety by beginning to modify potential fire behavior.
Reduce fuels in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) to reduce potential fire spread and intensity
between National Forest System lands and adjacent private lands.
The Decision (11/2011) on National Forest lands authorized approximately 4,700 acres of fuels treatments including
thinning, cutting and removing fuels by hand, timber harvest, and prescribed burns. Six alternatives were evaluated in
the FEIS and SFEIS. The alternatives presented a range of alternatives that address the key issues considered during the
analysis process. In the initial scoping period, approximately 9,000 acres were identified for potential treatment.
Court review
The BMW project was litigated in 2011. The Montana District Court affirmed the Forest Service Decision and analysis for
BMW on all counts except that the project relied on a faulty Biological Opinion from the USFWS related to lynx critical
habitat at the programmatic scale. As a result, the BMW project was linked to the ongoing “Salix” court case. The
Agencies (Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service) appealed the District court decision related to critical lynx habitat
designation, as well as the BMW decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The legal process for “Salix” concluded
in 2016. In order to remedy the critical habitat designation process, the agencies reconsulted and have received a new
Biological Opinion. The Forest Service is now preparing to resubmit the project to the Montana District Court.
Implementation is planned to initiate in 2020.
Please contact Corey Lewellen, District Ranger at the Bozeman Ranger District for more information 406-522-2531. To
review the Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project Record of Decision, Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and Final EIS go to the following website:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=9111
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Forest Plan Revision
United States Department of Agriculture
Forest Service January –February 2018 Proposed Action
CUSTER GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST
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•Comprehensive plan guiding forest management for 15+ years.
•Required by Law: National Forest Management Act (1976).
•Guides what we do, where we do it and how we do it.
•Forest Plan does not authorize site specific activities or
prohibitions, such as travel management. Does not mandate.
•All subsequent NEW proposals and projects must comply with
the approved forest plan ProjectNew Projects comply with the Revised Forest Plan and with Project NEPA
Weed
Project
Wildlife
Project
Road
ProjectTrail
Project
Range
ProjectForest PlanWhat is a Forest Plan?
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Custer Gallatin National Forest
Custer Gallatin National Forest
From West Yellowstone MT to Camp Crook SD
Plan Geographic
Areas
SiouxAshland
Madison, Gallatin and
Henrys Lake Mountains
Pryor Mountains
Absaroka
Beartooth
Mountains
Bridge, Bangtail and
Crazy Mountains
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2016
Spring
Summer
Fall
2016
January
Assessment of Existing
Conditions
Preliminary Need to
Change Existing Plans
Public Launch
2017
Winter
Spring
Fall
2017/18
Winter
Draft
Environmental
Impact Statement
Decision
Proposed Action
Develop
Proposed Action
2017/18
Winter Proposed Action
Initiate NEPA
2018
Fall
Winter
2019
Summer
2019
Winter
Final EIS and Draft
Decision
2019
Summer
/Fall
Objections
Plan Revision Steps and Schedule
Public Comment
Public Comment
Public Review
Wild and
Scenic River
Eligibility
Wilderness
(Inventory &
Evaluation)
Public Review
We are
here
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Upcoming Public Meetings
April 3 –Bozeman from 6:30–8:00 p.m. at Hilton Garden Inn
April 4 –West Yellowstone from 5:30 –7:30 p.m. Chamber
Commerce
April 8 –Ashland from 5:30 –7:00 p.m. at TRECO
April 9 -Camp Crook from 5:30–7:30 p.m. at Community Center
April 10 –Billings from 6:30–8:00 p.m. at Bighorn Resort
April 11 -Red Lodge from 5:30 –7:30 p.m. Roosevelt Center
April 22 –Big Timber from 10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. at the Sweet
Grass County Extension Office
April 22 –Livingston from 5:30 -7:00 p.m. at Yellowstone
Pioneer Lodge
April 23 -Cooke City from 10:30 a.m. –12:00 p.m. Chamber of
Commerce
April 23 –Gardiner from 5:30–7:00 p.m. Community Center
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Upcoming Public Webinars
Monday, April 15 from 5:00 pm. –6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 25 from 3:30 p.m. –5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 1 from 4:30 p.m. –6:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 9 from 1:30 p.m. –3:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 16 from 9:15 a.m. –10:15 a.m.
Tuesday, May 21 from 6:00 p.m. –7:30 p.m.
Tune into all via:
https://usfs.adobeconnect.com/cgfpr-500/
Compatible on mobile devices via adobe connect app
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Public Comment –Where to comment
Electronic comments strongly encouraged.
www.fs.usda.gov/custergallatin and click on Forest
Plan Revision and then Commenting or
https://tinyurl.com/caracgnf.
By Email:cgplanrevision@fs.fed.us with subject
line "Comment -draft plan -CGNF"
By Mail:Custer Gallatin National Forest,
Attn:Forest Plan Revision Team, P.O. Box 130
(10E Babcock), Bozeman, MT 59771
At local open houses byplacing in comment
box.Must be written submission.
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For more information….
External Website: www.fs.usda.gov/custergallatin
Forest Plan Revision Click Here
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Comments Due:
Due By June 06, 2019
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Comments Due:
Questions?
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BMW
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Comments Due:
Questions?
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Comments Due:
Thank You!
Corey Lewellen
406-522-2531
Corey.Lewellen@usda.gov
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