Conservation groups win Forest Service challenge to elk, grizzly habitat in Helena National Forest

In what two conservation groups are calling a victory for the average hunter wanting hunting access for elk, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council have won a lawsuit against the United States Forest Service to halt commercial logging and road building on public lands near Lincoln.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Missoula, the lawsuit in part was a plea to listen to concerns about the elk habitat on public lands and protection for grizzly bears in the Helena National Forest.

The challenge in federal court centered on elk habitat and population numbers, claiming that additional logging and road construction in the forest would only continue to negatively affect both elk and grizzly population and contradicted the Forest Service’s own plan, which includes boosting the number of elk that spend summer and fall on the Lincoln Ranger District.

Mike Garrity, executive director of Alliance for the Wild Rockies, said this particular lawsuit was essential to keep public opportunity for elk hunting. He said that from 1986, when the original Helena Forest Plan was adopted, to 2013, the number of elk spending time on private property has greatly increased, and the population has grown. However, because of the activity in the Blackfoot area near Lincoln, the elk population has not increased, limiting the availability of most Montanans who do not have a guide or access to private land.

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/12/29/conservation-groups-win-forest-service-challenge-to-elk-grizzly-habitat-in-helena-national-forest/