Montana Forest Advisory Council sets virtual meeting Monday and Tuesday

Press release

The Montana Forest Action Advisory Council will host its seventh meeting virtually Monday and Tuesday.

In order to comply with Phase 2 of the Re-Opening the Big Sky Plan, the condensed virtual meeting will take place over two days through an online platform. The meeting is scheduled for Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and continue Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

All members of MFAAC will attend the meeting remotely, including Gov. Steve Bullock who will join the meeting at 11 a.m. to hear updates on the Montana Forest Action Plan process and give remarks to the council members.   

In order to complete the 2020 revision of the Montana Forest Action Plan, Bullock convened a group of collaborators whom he appointed to MFAAC. So far, the council completed a draft of the Statewide Assessment of Forest Conditions and approved the data informed methodology for determining Priority Areas for Focused Attention across the state as requested by the governor in Executive Order No. 7-2019.

During the July meeting, the Council will continue to draft the final component of MFAP, the Strategies for Implementation. The final plan is slated to be delivered to Bullock in September 2020.

To join the MFAAC meeting, people need to contact Paige Cohn at [email protected] by Monday at 9 a.m. to request the secure meeting information. Connection information is different for both days.

A virtual public comment period will be available during the July meeting. Members of the public who are unable to attend the meeting but wish to submit public comment can visit the Montana Forest Action Plan website at http://www.MontanaForestActionPlan.org, and submit comments using the “Submit Public Comment” icon on the homepage.

MFAAC is a statewide collaborative group representing federal, state, local, and tribal governments; industry partners; conservation organizations; and collaborative and watershed groups convened with the purpose of updating the 2020 Montana Forest Action Plan and advising on measures needed to address forest health conditions and wildland fire risk issues across Montana.

The agenda is:

Montana Forest Action Advisory Council July meeting Day 1, Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Virtual Meeting Room

9:30 a.m. — Greetings and Welcome

9:50 a.m. — Business: May Meeting Record, Council Input and Timeline, and Committee Reports

10:15 a.m. — Goals and Strategies

10:30 a.m. — Agree on Process

10:45 a.m. — Review Strategies and Goals

11 a.m. — Gov. Steve Bullock Remarks and Update

2:40 p.m. — Public Comment

2:55 p.m. — Wrap Up

3 p.m. — Adjourn

Montana Forest Action Advisory Council July meeting Day 2, Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to noon

Virtual Meeting Room

9:30 a.m. — Greetings and Welcome

9:45 a.m. — Approve Assessment for Release to Public

10:15 a.m. — Next Steps for Montana Forest Action Plan

10:30 a.m. — Montana Forest Health Recovery Initiative Charter Review

11:30 a.m. — Public Comment

11:45 a.m. — Next Steps for the Council and Wrap Up

Noon — Adjourn