lolo national forest

The Lolo National Forest announced that Missoula District Ranger Crystal Stonesifer has approved logging and prescribed burns on 87,000 acres of Forest Service land within the boundaries of the Wildfire Adapted Missoula project.

The Lolo National Forest won’t release its draft forest plan analysis until summer, but employees have revealed four issues that are foundational to the plan.

The revision of the Lolo National Forest plan is continuing, but several recent personnel and agency changes have pushed the release of the draft documents into the winter.

The draft environmental study of the next version of the Lolo National Forest management plan will be delayed until fall 2025 to allow the Lolo revision team to adjust to some new national requirements.

Chris Evavold writes, "It is appreciated that the revised forest plan retains the 58,826-acre Sliderock recommended wilderness."

Maddy Munson writes, "Wild Montana is focused on protecting five areas within the Lolo. Here’s how those areas fare in the proposed action and what we recommend for their management."

The Lolo National Forest released a 236-page draft management plan that deals with everything from timber and recreation to wilderness and wildlife across the 2 million acres of national forest surrounding Missoula.

Several locals have concerns about the Lolo National Forest’s initial assessment of its lands, but forest managers say there’s still plenty of time and opportunity for the public to weigh in as the new Forest Management Plan is developed.