Forests study a grand merger

The U.S. Forest Service’s regional office has told officials with the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee national forests to study a merger. Regional Forester Harv Forsgren sent a letter about a month ago requesting that Bridger-Teton Supervisor Jacque Buchanan and Caribou-Targhee Supervisor Brent Larson begin investigating a merger, Buchanan said Tuesday. Members of the two forests’ staffs will come up with a recommendation before February. At that time, a preliminary decision could be reached. If the recommendation is to merge and that occurs, the result would be the largest national forest in the Lower 48. A combined Caribou-Targhee-Bridger-Teton National Forest would be almost 6.5 million acres. Only Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, at 17 million acres, would be larger. The investigation into merging forests is being driven by budget shortfalls, Buchanan and Forest Service regional spokeswoman Erin O’Connor said...more