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Missoula County to send response to 73 signers on Seeley Lake trails project, reiterates Forest Service NEPA authority
Summary
Chet Krauser, the county’s chief of lands and communities officer, presented a response letter to 73 signers who raised environmental-review concerns about the Forest Service Highway 83 project (Seeley Lake trails component). The county said it recognizes signers’ concerns, will continue dialogue, and emphasized that county action does not endorse the Forest Service’s NEPA process.
Chet Krauser presented a reply letter addressing concerns about environmental review for the Seeley Lake trails component of the Forest Service Highway 83 project.
Chet Krauser, Chief of Lands and Communities Officer for Missoula County, summarized a response to an April 8 letter submitted on behalf of 73 signers who had raised questions about environmental review for the U.S. Forest Service’s Highway 83 project near Seeley Lake. Krauser said the county’s reply acknowledges the signers’ concerns, notes ongoing dialogue with the Forest Service and some individuals who signed the letter, and encourages continued discussion.
Krauser said the county’s work on the trails-bond funding due diligence remains current and that entering into agreements with project sponsors to use trails bond dollars is not, in the county’s view, a stamp of approval of the Forest Service’s NEPA process. "In no way, shape, or form is the stamp of approval from Missoula County that the U.S. Forest Service did the...NEPA process," Krauser said, urging continued dialogue with the Forest Service for environmental-review questions.
Board members asked how signers would receive the response; Krauser replied that the original submitter provided the list of names and the county would respond to the submitter and could include signers by email where addresses are available. A board member also confirmed the posted packet version of the letter was the final version and Krauser said no changes followed posting.
No motion or vote on reversing prior trail-funding direction was recorded; the discussion closed after clarifications and the board moved to adjourn.
