GYC wraps up 4 years of public feedback on Custer Gallatin Forest’s new management plan

This September, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and many of its supporters submitted their final feedback to the Custer Gallatin National Forest on their new Forest Management Plan. This milestone concludes years of collaboration, public engagement, and expert recommendations to help equip the National Forest with the strongest plan possible. The planning process, which occurs about once every 20 years, updates the guiding document to manage resources including wildlife habitat, recommended wilderness, recreation, timber, and much more for the forest’s 3.1 million acres on the border of Yellowstone National Park.

Taking a break near a stream on the Custer Gallatin National Forest. (Photo Louise Johns.)

While we won’t see a final plan until Spring 2021, this marks the end of the process’s public phase. We are pleased with many aspects of the proposed plan and can clearly see the impact of GYC’s and our supporters’ input. We have also been incredibly grateful for the public’s enthusiasm to protect America’s public lands.

GYC, along with its partners at the Gallatin Forest Partnership, advocated for key plan elements that would benefit the overall health of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Along the way, we’ve forged relationships with new and diverse communities to build the call for conservation and find balance with our communities’ rapid growth in this iconic region. We were thrilled to submit 2,200 comments and 770 objections from our supporters during the public input sessions. Thank you to everyone who made their voice heard!

Here’s a breakdown of what we found in the proposed plan and the improvements we pushed for:

Rivers

We are excited to see the Custer Gallatin National Forest recognize 30 eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers across the forest. This is a huge improvement from the last forest plan that only protected a dozen. Unfortunately, the Forest Service fell short by leaving out irreplaceable waters like the Taylor Fork, South Fork of the Madison, and others. GYC will continue to work toward their protection as eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers as well as the recognition of many of these rivers’ outstanding wildlife and climate change resilience values.  

Wilderness

The plan adopted major parts of the Gallatin Forest Partnership’s Agreement, recommending over 96,000 acres of new wilderness in the wild heart of the Gallatin Range and other nearby areas. This is more than has ever been proposed for this range! However, this still leaves out key areas. We are continuing to push for more wilderness acres in places like Cowboy Heaven north of Lee Metcalf Wilderness and Lionhead Mountain near West Yellowstone, as well as improved wildlife protections for Porcupine Buffalo Horn Backcountry Area.  

Wildlife

We appreciate the plan’s commitment to enhance wildlife habitat connectivity.  Habitat standards for grizzly bears, big game, and wolverine could still be improved in some areas of the forest and we are evaluating how to do so. The plan also includes some elements to support free-ranging bison outside of Yellowstone year-round, though unfortunately they weren’t designated as a Species of Conservation Concern.

Recreation

The new plan is a critical opportunity to work toward sustainable recreation despite Bozeman and the surrounding area’s growing human footprint. It includes substantial new language to address issues like human-wildlife conflict and establishes solid regulations for many areas in and around the Gallatin Range. However, the Forest Service needs to accurately track the region’s rising recreation demands to create a long-lasting and viable plan to protect the area. The plan does not yet include area-specific recreation monitoring.

Climate Change

Climate change is a real threat to the forest, and one that no single group can tackle alone. That’s why we are pleased to see the plan provides guidance to the Forest Service to partner with other agencies, nonprofits, Tribes, universities, and local governments to better adapt to the challenges to come. We are continuing to analyze how well the plan addresses forest vegetation management, which represents a huge piece of the climate change puzzle.

Tribal Rights

The Custer Gallatin National Forest added a list of treaties in the plan’s legal framework, as well as protections for some iconic areas. This is a positive step toward working with tribes and honoring treaty rights. Unfortunately, some of the plan’s language is unenforceable, like the suggestion to develop co-management protocols with each Tribe.

Now that the public planning phase is over, GYC is looking forward to protecting parts of the Custer Gallatin National Forest. Below is a rough timeline for the years ahead:

Fall and Winter 2020 - The Forest Service will work to resolve objections they received on the proposed plan, including ours.  

Spring 2021 – The Forest Service will release the final plan and begin implementing new management policies.

Summer 2021 – We and our partners will take this work to the national level, working to permanently cement protections like recommended wilderness through congressional designation. Through permanent legislation we will secure a bright future for the Gallatin Range.

Thank you to everyone who supported our work during this crucial process for the health of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem! To stay up-to-date with our Custer Gallatin National Forest work, make sure you’re signed up for our e-mails and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you have any questions about this revision or our recommendations to the Forest Service, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to chat!

- Ryan Cruz, Montana Conservation Organizer