Noteworthy News
	Local Connections
	Issues of Interest

< back

6/6/2007
Bird's Eye View of Blackfoot Stewardship Pilot Program

Longtime outfitter, Jack Rich, gave a guided tour aboard an EcoFlight airplane. Giving an aerial perspective of this innovative proposal, Rich pointed out key areas of the Blackfoot Valley involved in the plan which was created by a unique group of conservationists, loggers, snowmobilers, outfitters and local landowners.

Two years in the making, this plan would designate new wilderness tracts in the Bob Marshal, Scapegoat and Mission Mountains wilderness areas; expand stewardship funding to restore watersheds, trout and wildlife habitat; maintain recreational facilities and assist in developing a co-generation plant that would burn small fuels that need to be removed for forest restoration.

Funding for this plan is being requested in the form of a congressional earmark totaling $7.9 million over ten years. The planning group has been conducting community meetings and garnishing impressive support from many diverse groups.

This plan represents a futurist way of managing forests. Though the exception and not the rule, forest stewardship is developing where no longer will any single interest group drive the future of our forests. This example of collaborative effort among key players is evolving the concept of stewardship and changing the face of land management.