SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are poised to formally withdraw its support for the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness proposal.

The board is also contemplating taking the extra step of calling on the U.S. Forest Service to cease managing the Scotchman Peaks area as recommended wilderness, a designation that has been in place as far back as 1987.

Both items are on the commission’s agenda when it meets at the Bonner County Administration Building at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Both resolutions follow the outcome of an advisory vote on Tuesday in which opponents of the wilderness designation edged supporters of the proposal by an 841-vote margin. Foes of the formal wilderness designation cast 5,672 votes against supporters’ 4,831 votes.

The outcome of the vote prompted U.S. Sen. Jim Risch to follow through on a pledge to use the vote to determine whether he would continue pursuing legislation he introduced in 2016 which sought to designate 13,900 acres in Idaho as wilderness. Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, meanwhile, said it would not be deterred in its mission obtain a designation.

Friends of Scotchman Peaks argue the designation is apt because the area is too remote and too rugged to efficiently harvest timber or extract minerals. The wilderness proposal drew the support of both timber and mining companies, in addition to winning the political support of a prior county commission.

But local political support has steadily eroded as the commission’s makeup evolved. Members of the public also began pushing back against the designation, causing the board to call for an advisory vote to quantify the public’s support or disapproval.

The 1987 management plan for Idaho Panhandle National Forests recommended designating 23,912 acres as wilderness. The acreage was increased to nearly 26,000 acres when the management plans for the Idaho Panhandle and Kootenai national forests in 2015.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.