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Montana DNRC Forested Trust Lands |
Public Participation
Citizen Participation Plan (pdf)
Citizen Involvement
Citizen involvement is an important part of the HCP planning process and is further described through the Citizen Participation Plan. Montana DNRC considers all public input and works hard to be responsive to public comment while remaining responsible to the Trust Land Management Division Mission. Public comments are welcome throughout the development of the HCP/EIS, but are most helpful when submitted during designated public comment periods. Public comment periods will be posted on the HCP Homepage in advance.
Beginning April 28, 2003, the DNRC and the USFWS held a 60-day scoping period for the proposed HCP and EIS to gather public comments on the proposed action. The information collected from scoping was used to help determine if the species list for the HCP was adequate, whether the permit period of 50 years was acceptable, if the proposed forest management activities were sufficiently addressed, and whether the geographic range for the HCP was appropriate. Comments acquired from scoping were used to identify resource information to be included in the EIS, key issues, and proposed alternatives. The scoping report summarizes comments received during the public and internal scoping meetings, and from letters sent to the DNRC and USFWS.
In October 2005, the DNRC held a 45-day public review period to allow interested parties to review and comment on the conservation strategies. The purpose of the public review was to identify areas of concern with the strategies or the planning process prior to the completion of the Draft HCP/environmental impact statement (EIS). Issues identified during this time period ultimately assisted the DNRC in formulating alternatives for the EIS. Meeting Notes and Public Responses
Citizens will have the opportunity to view the revised conservation strategies in the Draft HCP scheduled to be released for public comment in the winter of 2007/2008.
If you would like to be included in the distribution of project documents, send your name, mailing address and email address to dnrchcp@mt.gov or call (406) 542-4316.
