ing incidence of insect and disease infesta- 

 tions, and regenerating portions of the 

 stands where the timber-stand growth is 

 decreasing. Actions would be done in a 

 manner that maintains site productivity 

 and favors the retention and regeneration 

 of appropriate species mixes. Harvesting 

 >) would be done to reduce the hazard of 

 heavy fuel loading and risk of large wild- 

 fires that would be difficult to control. 



• Provide for additional benefit^ and main- 

 tain options for sustained revenue to the 

 school trusts by: 



Completing site improvements on 

 existing roads to improve water quality 

 and safety in the area. Constructing a 

 new road system to access the entire 

 area with roads that meet current Best 

 Management Practice (BMP) standards 

 and provide for safety. •uij^H »>^i?c.?;!9i'! 



Restricting motorized travel on some 

 -r- existing and new roads to provide 

 additional wildlife security and allow 

 better control of unseasonable use of 

 roads, thereby protecting the State's 

 investment in the roads and water 

 quality. v5jh«>m^ 



RELATIONSHIP TO 

 THE SFLMP 



M^I-.C 



The SFLMP is a programmatic plan that 

 provides field personnel with consistent 

 policy, direction, and guidance for the man- 

 agement of State forested lands. It contains 

 the general philosophies and management 

 standards that will provide the framework for 

 project-level decisions. 



\i m wii</'3\ 



The planning of the proposed Beaver Lake 

 project was guided by the SFLMP. The SFLMP 

 philosophy and appropriate resource manage- 

 ment standards have been incorporated into 

 the design of the proposed actions. The 

 Beaver Lake Environmental Impact Statement 

 (EIS) is not intended as a programmatic or 

 area plan and is limited to addressing specific 



proposed actions in reference to issues that 

 were identified through public involvement 

 and interdisciplinary input. 



EIS PROCESS 



EIS DEVELOPMENT 



This EIS was prepared in compliance with the 

 Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). 

 MEPA requires State government to include 

 consideration of environmental impacts into 

 its decision-making process. It also requires 

 agencies to inform the public and other inter- 

 ested parties about proposed projects, the 

 environmental impacts that might result, and 

 alternative actions that could achieve project 

 objectives. 



PUBLIC SCOPING 



On March 27, 1997, a public involvement 

 notice was published in Montana's Flathead 

 County newspapers. Initial comments were 

 requested on DNRC's proposal "to identify 

 current, legitimate projects, including timber 

 harvesting, that could generate revenue for the 

 Montana school trust funds and design a means of 

 implementing these projects in a combined, com- 

 prehensive manner. " DNRC announced its 

 intention to hire a consultant to identify all 

 parties who had a proposal or would like to 

 propose a project to generate revenue for the 

 trusts. The consultant was contracted to 

 "clearly define each party's interest or proposal" 

 and "work with all parties to identify ways of 

 combining/coordinating these projects into one or 

 more comprehensive alternatives" that would 

 meet DNRC's legal mandates, the SFLMP, and 

 the desires of the interested parties and com- 

 munities. 



Through a competitive bidding process, the 

 Flathead Economic Policy Center (FEPC) of 

 Kalispell, Montana was chosen as the consult- 

 ant to facilitate the alternative development 

 process. FEPC managed the public involve- 

 ment through the alternative-development 

 process. 



( 1-2 r 



Stillwater State Forest • Beaver Lake Timber Sale Project 



