NEPA changes could speed Bonner County forest projects, panel told

Members of the Bonner County Natural Resources Committee heard that federal changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, are expected to streamline environmental reviews for high wildfire‑risk areas and could speed logging proposals and related infrastructure projects, but the committee could not take formal action because it lacked a quorum.

Jim (committee member) told attendees, “They've made a lot of changes to it that's making NEPA process much more streamlined and much faster to go through for affected areas.” He said those changes will initially apply to areas rated “very high” or “high” wildfire risk and to projects under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, and that the county already has several forestry proposals that have been tied up in lengthy NEPA litigation.

The committee discussed at least one local infrastructure project that members said has been held up for about a decade: a bridge on a snowmobile route into Priest Lake, reported as the Arch (Binarch) Creek crossing. Committee members said the Forest Service has expressed willingness to replace the bridge only in conjunction with a timber thinning or other Good Neighbor Authority operation — a linkage that can add years to the schedule because it triggers broader NEPA review. A member of the public said replacing the bridge 10 years ago would have likely cost much less, and that inflation and delay have raised current costs.

Committee members cited a recent, narrow example of administrative streamlining: the Hiawatha Trail trestles received a categorical exclusion for work to decommission and rebuild existing structures, meaning the project did not require a full environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.

The committee asked staff to invite a Forest Service official named in meeting materials, Timothy Galoon, to a future meeting to explain the NEPA changes and how they will be applied locally. The committee also recommended that the Bonner County commissioner assigned to the committee subscribe to Forest Service and Panhandle Forest Collaborative mailing lists to make sure county representatives receive notices of proposed actions.

No formal votes or policy actions occurred; the chair declared the meeting unofficial because a quorum was not present.