Management guidelines are overdue for the lower 48’s third-largest national forest. But a recently released assessment marks the first step of a years-long process to update the principal plan, which guides all land management decisions.
The “State of the Forest” assessment identifies issues the Bridger Teton National Forest will focus on in its future plan. It’s the first step of an update expected in the next several years. It details “existing forest service conditions and trends” for a broad swath of topics from wildlife and fauna, to tribal connections and recreation, to wildfire and timber and grazing economics.
Nick Dobric, who works with the national environmental advocate The Wilderness Society, said the assessment is inadequate in one area in particular.
He worries the forest isn’t addressing big game migration corridors for species like elk, moose, mule deer and pronghorn to the best of their ability.
“We’re disappointed that this draft assessment does not include all the important research on big game migrations, which are critical to supporting our wildlife,” Dobric said.
That’s despite the forest saying a new plan should place importance on several topics, like migration corridors, that were left out of the previous plan in 1990.
Still, Dobric says there are about a dozen migration routes that are not recognized in the new draft assessment.
The over 3 million-acre national forest is the largest contiguous unit of federal land in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, important for the region’s wildlife, ecosystem, tribal connection, timber and cattle grazing.
“Forest plans set the overall direction for management decisions for decades to come. So it’s critical to start with an accurate and complete assessment,” he said.
The draft assessment is a first step and will continue to be tweaked by community input, according to Forest Supervisor Chad Hudson.
“The draft assessment marks an important milestone in our forest plan revision process and reflects months of collaborative effort with Forest specialists and valued cooperating agencies, whose expertise and insight have helped shape a more thoughtful, balanced, and informed assessment,” he said.
In addition to the “State of the Forest” assessment, the BTNF also released a list that will guide the future forest plan detailing “potential species of conservation concern.” It includes fish, wildlife and plants like the Snake River Cutthroat Trout, Greater Sage Grouse and Teton wirelettuce, a perennial pink flowering plant unique to Northwest Wyoming.
The forest is taking public comment online until August 24.
“If people care about maintaining our incredible wildlife here, we just encourage people to let the forest know to include the best available information in their assessment,” Dobric said.
