Nez Perce-Clearwater forest plans still under revision

Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest officials provided an update of a revised forest plan to the Latah County Commissioners and a small group of unsatisfied members of the public Monday at the Latah County Courthouse.

Forest officials started revising the forest management plan in 2012 to update two plans from 1987 - one for the Nez Perce National Forest and the other for the Clearwater National Forest.

Forest Planner Zach Peterson told the Daily News after the meeting that the forests combined in 2013 to form the current footprint that is now the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. Combined, the two forests constitute the largest contiguous area of wild country outside of Alaska.

Peterson said 30 years ago, forest officials had different views of forest management, including how to provide for clean water, fish and wildlife, and recreation, all of which need to be updated.

"We kind of look at it in a different way now than we did in 1987," Peterson said.

Officials are developing alternatives to address four different issues with the forest pointed out in public comments, which he outlined Monday.

The first is whether to add or remove wilderness areas and suitable Wild and Scenic River segments to the forest. Peterson said only Congress can designate wilderness areas and Wild and Scenic River segments.

The second issue is managing motorized and non-motorized access across the forest; the third was considering the desired conditions for forest vegetation and if they should be met through natural processes or active management.

Lastly, Peterson outlined whether the potential timber sale quantity should be increased or decreased to better provide for a balance of ecological sustainability and economic and social resiliency.

Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert said the four issues were generated from more than 13,000 public comments sent to forest officials in 2014.

"I would say forest health and the condition of the forest vegetation is very important to a lot of people," Peterson said.

A small group, some associated with the Friends of the Clearwater, who listened to the meeting Monday, asked for more face-to-face interactions with forest officials.

Friends of the Clearwater is a nonprofit group which defends the Idaho Clearwater bioregion's wildlands and biodiversity through a forest watch program, litigation, grassroots public involvement, outreach and education, according to its website.

Brett Haverstick, Friends of the Clearwater education and outreach director, said the spirit of collaboration is actually stifling residents' involvement, which he said was on display Monday.

Haverstick said the Forest Service held a well-attended public meeting four years ago in Moscow regarding its draft proposed action and many efforts were made to have another meeting in Latah County.

Haverstick said the Palouse Ranger District is the most heavily visited district in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest.

"I think it's becoming more and more obvious to the public that unless you're a stakeholder, unless you're a special interest or unless you're a collaborator, the Forest Service is less concerned with hearing from you," Haverstick said. "I hope that is becoming more and more blatantly clear that citizens are getting short-circuited from the public comment period."

He thanked Commissioner Tom Lamar for reaching out to Probert and requesting Monday's public meeting, but Haverstick said the meeting wasn't enough.

"Today does not come nearly close to sufficing for genuine public involvement," he said. "If indeed Supervisor Probert is encouraged by all the concerns and excitement over how these forests are managed, well then, for crying out loud, we should be having a public meeting here somewhere in our county."

Haverstick asked Probert if the revised plan would have "measurable and enforceable" standards for water quality, wildlife habitat and other items, to which Probert responded there would be.

Probert said it will hold another meeting in Moscow regarding the forest plan revision after the Environmental Impact Statement is drafted, which is expected to be in December.

She said informal open houses in various Latah County communities are possible before the draft EIS comes out.

"Short of going door-to-door, there's really no perfect way to engage everyone," Probert said.

One audience member said it would be advantageous to have a full public hearing in Moscow and that it would likely have a "robust attendance."

Commissioner Dave McGraw said it is critically important that everyone's voice be heard.

"We got more people in this room right now than we'd have for any meeting in the last six weeks, at least," he said.

Probert said from 2012 to 2014, the Forest Service held a series of 23 meetings to collaborate with the public. Meetings have been held since 2014 as well.

Peterson told the Daily News that the draft EIS anticipated to be released in December will begin a 90-day public comment period.

The final EIS is expected to be released in December 2019, which will open a 60-day objection period, Peterson said.

The record of decision, which is the final decision on the revised plan, is scheduled for June 2020, he said.

The Forest Service is still taking public comments. Residents can email fpr_npclw@fs.fed.us or mail to: U.S. Forest Service, Attn: Zach Peterson, 903 3rd St., Kamiah, ID, 83536.

Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.