Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership Plan

Southwest Montana is a landscape rich in scale and beauty. It is home to mountain ranges such as the Snowcrest, Italian Peaks, West Big Hole, East and West Pioneers, Sapphires and Highlands to name a few. The rivers provide world-class fly-fishing, elk grow large and plentiful, and Montanans enjoy such backcountry wilderness traditions as horsepacking, hiking, camping, hunting and fishing.

The region is home to Montana’s largest National Forest—the Beaverhead-Deerlodge (B-D) at 3.32 million acres—which is currently in the midst of developing a new Forest Plan. In 2005, the B-D National Forest released its Draft Revised Land and Resource Management Plan to the public. After careful study, the Montana Wilderness Association thought the draft plan could use some improvement. And as it turns out, so did others.

Testifying at a Congressional hearing on National Forest management called by former Senator Conrad Burns—Sherm Anderson, owner of Sun Mountain Lumber and John Gatchell, Conservation Director at MWA—echoed each other’s dissatisfaction with the draft plan. This led to an introduction and conversation, followed by serious exploration of a plan that was a better fit for both organizations.

They invited other conservation groups and timber companies to help and eventually the group became the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership. This Partnership includes Sun Mountain Lumber, Montana Wilderness Association, RY Timber Inc., Montana Trout Unlimited, Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc., Roseburg Forest Products, National Wildlife Federation and Smurfit Stone Container. The result of their effort was the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership Plan. They have asked the Forest Service to consider the plan as part of the Forest Planning process.

Released to the public in 2006, the B-D Partnership Plan rests on three pillars: good paying jobs in the woods, healthy forests that reduce the risk of fire and protection of Montana’s backcountry heritage.

The B-D Partnership Plan has many guiding principles that result in real working solutions for the landscape. It includes large landscape projects involving vegetation management and restoration that will occur under stewardship contracts, with approximately 713,000 acres suitable for timber production and approximately 573,000 acres of new Wilderness in 16 areas.

Other principles include stewardship restoration activities that will enhance fish and wildlife habitat, modifying timber age class distribution to reduce fire severity and insect outbreaks, a net decrease in permanent roads at the end of the planning period and a Stakeholder Advisory Council comprised of multiple interests that will assist the USFS in the design, implementation and monitoring of stewardship projects.

Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership Map [click image to enlarge]

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership has drawn praise from Montana’s statewide leaders including Senator Max Baucus, Senator Jon Tester, Governor Brian Schweitzer, Secretary of State Brad Johnson and former Congressman Pat Williams. A review of the partners and the praise the partnership has drawn, gives you a feeling for how strong the Partnership is in Montana.

Since the release of the B-D Partnership Plan in 2006, members of the B-D Partnership has been hard at work meeting with the public, local elected officials, public lands user groups and other interested parties. These meetings continue to build broad support and constructive conversations have helped to shape the B-D Partnership Plan further. Ultimately, legislation will provide certainty for all interests and the B-D Partnership has provided Montana’s Congressional delegation with a working-draft bill to open dialogue and receive feedback. A draft of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Conservation, Restoration and Stewardship Act of 2007 was released in early 2007. The latest draft of the legislation was released on October 9, 2007.

Meanwhile, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest continues its Forest Plan process. A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) should be released in November 2007, followed by a 45-day comment period. This will provide an excellent opportunity for Montana Wilderness Association members to voice their support of the B-D Partnership Plan and urge the Forest Service to adopt its guiding principles.

The B-D Partnership represents a new day in Montana. It means putting aside the conflicts and gridlock of the past and moving Montana forward on a new path. It means people working in our mills without fear of closing tomorrow, healthy forests that reduce the risk of wildfire, and new Wilderness in Montana—the passion and lifeblood of our organization.

We hope you take a moment to roll up your sleeves and lend a hand with this important campaign.

Letting elected officials know you support the B-D Partnership Plan will be critical for it success. Your voice is important. It represents your community and it only takes a moment to send a letter or e-mail or make a phone call to your County Commissioners and other local elected officials. Let them know you support the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership and moving Montana towards a better future.

Here are letter writing tips specifically tailored to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership Plan.