Tag Archives: CRMP

Agenda posted for Flathead Forest’s Comprehensive River Management Plan informational sessions

Environmental Issues, News,
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest

We’re starting to see some real movement on the Comprehensive River Management Plan (not so affectionately known as the CRMP). The text of the official press release follows, but here are the highlights…

There are two informational meetings. The first is on Tuesday, January 21st, the second is on Wednesday, January 22nd. Both are being held from 6 to 8pm at the Flathead Valley Community College, Arts and Technology building, room 130 (AT-130). There is a listen-only virtual option for the presentation portions of the meeting.

From the official press release . . .

There are two opportunities to join the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park for informational sessions on developing the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP); specialists will provide background on river management, information on the development of the CRMP, and history of the three forks of the Flathead River and the Wild & Scenic designation.

Details on the agenda and options to attend are listed below. Additional information on how to join a Teams meeting, the CRMP, and the development of the plan to date can be found at our webpage.

Agenda:

5:45 PM            Doors Open
6:00 PM            Welcome, Introductions and Agenda Overview
6:10 PM            Overview of Proposed Action
6:30 PM            Open House Session – resource and fork-specific tables will be available to facilitate discussion

(There will be no virtual presentation during this time)

7:30 PM            Question & Answer Session

The question & answer session is intended to facilitate public comment submission on the proposed action. Virtual attendees can view this session live, but there will be no option to submit questions. If you have a question that was not answered during the sessions, you may contact Chris Prew at 406-758-5322 or christopher.prew@usda.gov prior to the deadline of February 7, 2025. Sending a question cannot be considered as a formal comment submission. To submit a comment on the project, visit the project webpage.

7:50 PM            Closing Remarks
8:00 PM            Adjourn

To attend the sessions in-person:
Tuesday January 21 at 6pm – 8pm
Wednesday January 22 at 6pm – 8pm
Flathead Valley Community College, Arts and Technology building, room 130 (AT-130)

To attend the sessions virtually:
Click here to join the teams meeting

 

Forest reopens public engagement on long-awaited Flathead River Management Plan

Environmental Issues, News, ,
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest
Flathead River in Flathead National Forest

Absolutely excellent write-up by the Flathead Beacon on the rebooted and long-awaited process of developing the Comprehensive River Management Plan . . .

Resource managers tasked with managing the Flathead River’s three forks under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act announced Monday they’re rebooting a public-engagement process despite falling short of a goal to have completed the draft plan and environmental assessment months ago.

The Flathead National Forest published its “proposed action” document for public review on the agency’s project website while project leaders laid plans to host a pair of open houses on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building. The public comment period will be open for 30 days, concluding on Feb. 7. Comments may be submitted electronically here.

The “proposed action” document is different than the draft river management plan, which was due out last fall but is still being developed. The document released Monday will be modified throughout the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process, according to Kira Powell, public affairs officer for the Flathead National Forest. Another round of public input will also be considered during the environmental analysis (EA), which Powell identified as the most likely level of analysis under NEPA.

Continue reading . . .

Glacier Park and Flathead Forest restart management planning for Three Forks of the Flathead River — finally

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From the official joint press release . . .

Joint Release: New Project Leader Joins the Comprehensive River Management Planning Effort for the Three Forks of the Flathead Wild and Scenic River

North Fork of the Flathead River - ©Mark LaRowe
North Fork of the Flathead River – ©Mark LaRowe

Release Date: 

Kalispell, MT, May 6, 2024 — The Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park are working together to reengage in the Comprehensive River Management Plan (CRMP) for the three forks of the Flathead River. “We are bringing on a new project leader who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in Wild and Scenic River planning” says Rob Davies, Hungry Horse-Glacier District Ranger. “Our aim is a cohesive interdisciplinary, interagency team with aligned vision, working together on a plan for all the three forks, now and going into the future”. Our new team leader has experience with river management plans from across the nation and joins us from the U.S. Forest Service Washington Office’s Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers Program.

The Flathead National Forest began the planning effort in 2018 and released a proposed action in 2019, which included public scoping and a series of public meetings. While plan development experienced periods of delay in 2020 and again in 2023, the Flathead National Forest and Glacier National Park continued to analyze public input from the 2019 public engagement efforts and work towards drafting a plan for the next phase of public participation. Continue reading Glacier Park and Flathead Forest restart management planning for Three Forks of the Flathead River — finally →

Scoping document released for the Comprehensive River Management Plan

Environmental Issues, News, ,
North Fork Flathead River, May 16, 2018 - by William K. Walker
North Fork Flathead River, May 16, 2018 – by William K. Walker

I just got this note from Rob Davies, Hungry Horse/Glacier View District Ranger . . .

The Proposed Action for the River Plan is out today. [In the press release below,] you will see the link to the Flathead NF web page where you can locate the July 2019 Draft Proposed Action (50 pages).

Also public meetings are now set for Tue Aug 13th, and Tue August 20th, Flathead Community College, 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

If you could please pass this on to the home owners association and others in the North Fork on your email list who you know are interested. This info will also be distributed in all the next editions of the local papers.

And here is the official press release . . .

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: https://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): https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=56536.

Continue reading Scoping document released for the Comprehensive River Management Plan →