| Lincoln County Coalition |
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— Wayne Hirst; Lincoln County Coalition member and businessman: Libby, Montana. Location: Lincoln County, Montana -- Northwestern Montana. Objective: Lincoln County Coalition (LCC) works to bring together representatives from all sectors of their community: snowmobile and ATV-riders, outfitters, wilderness advocates, loggers and political representatives. Their objectives include: jobs in the woods, forest health, motorized recreation, protecting special places, and preserving traditional access. Participants: Representatives from: local businesses, snowmobile and ATV-rider groups, County Commissioners, US Forest Service representatives, and non-profit conservation advocates. History: Lincoln County, Montana is approximately 3,600 square miles-75% of which is National Forest lands. Another 10% is corporate timber. The residents are surrounded and bordered by the Kootenai National Forest (KNF)-approximately 4% of which is officially protected as a wilderness area. Although this is a relatively low proportion of the forest, there have been no new designated wilderness areas created in the KNF since 1964, which has frustrated many Lincoln County residents. Another pressing issue is the number of people who have "discovered" Lincoln County and moved to, or plan to have, retirement or vacation homes there. Some proposed subdivisions are larger than entire towns in the county, which could have a significant impact on hunting and fishing access as well as wildlife habitat. This has also increased property values in an area that has the highest unemployment in the state at 14% in the winter and 7% in the summer. Although it is a beautiful region with a wealth of forest resources, employment can be hard to come by and harder to hold on to. The past few decades have seen the logging industry in the region grind to a near standstill. This obviously has been devastating for many residents who were employed in varying timber and logging capacities. Local communities and local businesses are struggling to improve upon and increase employment opportunities in such sectors as logging and recreation.
The Lincoln County Coalition is an effort to bring together those willing and interested parties who are looking to effect positive change in and around the KNF and its surrounding communities. Donna O'Neil of the Lincoln County Snow-Kats said of the LCC "It's very new turf for everyone. It's like keeping cats, dogs and mice in the same room - and everyone thinks they're a mouse." However, coalition members continue to work towards common ground for all stakeholders. Accomplishments: The Lincoln County Coalition members have worked hard to put aside differences so that they can each express their concerns and move towards a positive outcome. Wilderness advocates and snowmobile and ATV-riders have come to a consensus on establishing wilderness and recreation areas. Prior to the LCC, interactions seemed to be either hostile arguments or no communication at all. LCC has developed a draft legislative package: The Lincoln County Community Development Project. Its main objectives are: 1) creating jobs in the woods, 2) preserving recreational access, and 3) protecting special areas as wilderness. A predictable and sustainable timber supply will be a very important part of the legislative package, as will provisions for maintaining and supporting forest health. LCC is still in the process of getting a draft of the legislative package out to the public, but will most likely have something by summer of 2007. The recreation and wilderness areas have been hammered out, and they are working out the details on timber and jobs. But that isn't the end of the process for the package. Once they have the major objectives addressed it will be presented to county commissioners, interested community members, and other stakeholders to ascertain support for the package. Challenges/Constraints: Housing development plans could have a significant impact on traditional access for hunters, anglers, snowmobile riders and wildlife, not to mention the economic impact. A Planning Board has been created to address some of these concerns. Also, the population has made a noticeable shift towards retirees and some think they need to make certain there is a more even age distribution throughout the county. Unemployment is high and the percentage of children living in poverty (25%) is a serious concern. To attract (and hold on to) younger families, employment opportunities must be increased. For more information see: Missoulian Story Kootenai National Forest
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 15 May 2008 ) | |||||
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