Dear Public Land Advocates,
With the new year upon us, Friends of the Clearwater wanted to take this time to bring you up to date on a very important development regarding the future of the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests. The Forest Service thought that it would be in the best interest of the public to release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the forest plan revision on the Friday before Christmas. As a result, the comment period for the most important proposal on these forests is already underway!
Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) responded immediately to the release of the draft plan by sending a letter to the Forest Service requesting a 90-day extension of the comment period. Twelve groups and individuals originally signed on to the letter. Now the letter contains over twenty. You can read it here Time Extension Request 1-6-20. FOC also issued a news release.
This is also an important opportunity for you to contact Supervisor Cheryl Probert yourself, and request an extension of the public comment period. You can reach her at (208) 935-2513 or send her an email. Please tell her that it is completely unacceptable for the Forest Service to begin the public comment period a few days before Christmas when most of the public, including Forest Service employees, are spending time with family. Ask her to extend the public comment period an additional 90-days so that this massive revision can be properly analyzed and vetted.
In the meantime, circle your calendars for Thursday January 16. FOC will be delivering a program about the heavily-flawed forest plan revision in the Arts Room of the 1912 Center, 412 E Third in Moscow. The program is free and begins at 7:00pm. We will also be co-sponsoring a forest plan workshop on Thursday January 30 with the Kootenai Environmental Alliance. It begins at 5:00pm at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E Front Avenue. Stay tuned for more programs in other cities around the region.
FOC will also let you know if the Forest Service decides to serve the public, and extend the public comment period. Please help us by contacting Supervisor Cheryl Probert’s office today.
Together we can hold our government accountable.
Sincerely,
Brett Haverstick
Education & Outreach Director
Friends of the Clearwater
friendsoftheclearwater.org
