Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Kalispell’s Daily InterLake today published an editorial defending the declaration by the Flathead National Forest’s Joe Krueger that the FNF would give “…a lot of weight” to the forest plan alternative proposed by the Whitefish Range Partnership:
The Flathead Forest’s team leader for forest planning remarked that the partnership’s recommendations will be “given a lot of weight,” as they should, because forest planning rules that were adopted in 2012 put a strong emphasis on encouraging thoughtful, substantive public input through collaborative efforts. And that’s precisely what they’re getting in this case.
The InterLake would not be rushing to the defense of Krueger and the FNF unless they were feeling somewhat beleaguered by criticism that they were playing favorites, which they were, and that playing favorites was unprofessional, which it is.
My feedback from the 5 December FNF forest plan session is that the agency and its hired facilitators, without directly addressing the criticism, made a concerted effort to reassure the participants that everyone is equal in the NEPA process that the WRP agreement, along with all other proposals and alternatives, must now go through. That’s more evidence that the FNF is trying to climb out of a hole it dug with its tongue.
I hope that from this point forward, the FNF behaves itself and stops playing favorites, and that everyone involved in the revision of the forest plan concentrates on the substance of the plan.