Bitterroot National Forest

The Lolo National Forest publicized two initiatives that allow more state involvement and less public input in logging projects. Some citizens claim it’s a return to “logging without laws” from the 1990s.

The loss of life and property, and the damage to natural resources caused by the Big Burn did help save the U.S. Forest Service. Until that time, many detractors in Washington D.C. had called for cancellation of the "experiment." The debate over how best to prevent these summertime natural disasters, however, has continued for more than 100 years, and counting

Wildlife advocates have asked the courts to require the Bitterroot National Forest to keep its limits on road building to preserve wildlife and bull trout habitat.

Mike Garrity writes, "The Forest Service estimates that the Gold Butterfly project will result in a net loss of $4.2 million to federal taxpayers."

A logging and clearcutting project in the Bitterroot National Forest will impact the environment and cost taxpayers $4.2 million, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Missoula, challenges the Mud Creek Vegetation Management Project, which involves logging, thinning, and burning 48,486 acres within the Bitterroot National Forest.

One of the oldest forest research sites in the western U.S. is slated for another round of logging and burning to see how ponderosa stands respond to different treatments.