Forest Service stands ground on grizzly issues

When the Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed a lawsuit last month to challenge three logging projects in Kootenai National Forest, the news probably didn’t surprise officials within the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s nothing new to see conservation groups challenge the actions of government agencies. In this case, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies believes road construction in connection with the logging projects will threaten grizzly bear habitat in the Cabinet-Yaak ecosystem. “In our view, we’ve designed good projects that ultimately we believe are not likely to adversely effect grizzly bears,” Paul Bradford, Kootenai National Forest supervisor, said last week. “The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed with us through consultation activities.” The conservation organization doesn’t have those same views and insists that the projects will displace any bears living within the occupied habitat...read more