The Bitterroot National Forest will host a third public meeting on Wednesday, August 18th from 6:00-8:30 p.m. to share information regarding the development of a forest Climbing Management Plan (CMP). The virtual meeting will be held on Zoom. See below for instructions and a link to join the meeting. Similar public meetings (virtual) were held in June and July.
In addition to being an opportunity to learn about and participate in the process of developing a climbing plan, next week’s meeting will cover the following agenda topics:
• Summarize what we heard at the last meeting
• Present and discuss recommendations for raptor management guidelines related to climbing
• Presentation on the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and its use for recreation planning
• Small group discussion on types of climbing and how they relate to the ROS
• Summarize small group discussions and wrap up
In May, the forest published an interactive Story Map to provide an information hub for those interested in climbing management. The project included input from community members and represents the beginning of the process for a CMP. Once completed, the plan will describe the desired condition for responsible climbing activities across the forest, considering the need for maintaining recreation access while also providing for appropriate cultural and natural resource protections.
To join next week’s Zoom meeting click on the link below and enter the following meeting ID (949 5290 2024) and passcode (548820) –https://umontana.zoom.us/j/94952902024?pwd=MVhCcFdVZXd0SkRFNm5MVmF0MDY2dz09. To view the Climbing Story Map, visit https://arcg.is/riqW5.
For more information, contact the Stevensville Ranger District at (406) 777-5461.