


The Kootenai Forest Stakeholders Coalition (KFSC) is a Montana-made partnership of recreationalists, business owners, timber mill operators and conservationists. Together, we are deeply invested in the future of the Kootenai National Forest (KNF). We are dedicated to finding common-ground solutions to public land management challenges. We believe there is room for everyone across our vast forest. And, we believe our economy will thrive when our natural resources are managed in accord with the ecological needs of the forest, best available scientific research, and the needs of the local community.
In 2015, the KFSC agreed upon a set of Forest Management Guidelines to ensure sustainable and predictable timber production, recreational access, and propose wilderness designation in some of the Kootenai’s last remaining truly wild and roadless lands. The KFSC Agreement is focused on sustaining and bolstering local timber production on the KNF. Current timber harvest levels produce approximately 50 million board feet of timber per year on the KNF. Our recommendations support the current KNF forest plan timber harvest levels of 70 – 90 million board feet per year, while also protecting what makes the Kootenai special – clean water, secure wildlife habitat, and backcountry motorized and non-motorized recreation opportunities.
The KFSC works in tandem with land managers at the Forest Service to make recommendations on individual timber projects at the district level. The KFSC assembles a team of locals from each district across the KNF to work in partnership, representing the needs of the community. Working with a culture of respect, we aim for representative teams with community members from broad backgrounds including timber professionals, outdoors people, conservationists, local business owners, motorized recreational users, and more. The team works side-by-side with the Forest Service – using our Forest Management Guidelines as a reference to inform our process at the project level – to produce sustainable projects that come to completion swiftly. We aim to avoid litigation by using this model of collaboration and broad community support.
The KFSC provides a forum and a locally-driven means for our community to have a voice in forest management. We welcome new community members who are willing to operate with a culture of respect and are interested in having a voice in local land management.