From today’s online edition of the Missoulian . . .
Federal officials did a good job of balancing road work and grizzly bears in the Flathead National Forest, according to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“It’s a very significant victory for us,” Flathead forest planning staff officer Rob Carlin said Wednesday. “It supports us in the direction we’ve been taking at the Flathead.”
The court combined two cases involving road removal in areas burned in the 2003 wildfires. One was in the Roberts/Wedge fire along the North Fork of the Flathead River, and the other was along the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir. Both areas have large grizzly bear populations and are covered by special forest plan rules for how many miles of road are allowed in grizzly habitat.