February 04, 2019 - 10:04 AM
MISSOULA, Mont. - The federal government has released a signed Record of Decision for the new Flathead National Forest plan.
The Missoulian reports more than half of the forest will be managed as wilderness, 13 per cent will be managed for research and recreation, and 28 per cent will be managed as "General Forest" with some degree of vegetation management.
The U.S. Forest Service plan also includes plans for managing endangered and threatened species.
The plan, announced in a release Friday, ends a four-year effort to craft a new management plan for the Flathead National Forest in northwest Montana, and whose previous management plan dated to 1986.
While the Record of Decision detailing the rationale for the plan and final changes was completed in late December, it wasn't made public until last week due to the federal government shutdown.
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Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2019