BONNERS FERRY — On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, hosted a field trip to the proposed Westside Restoration Project area in the Bonners Ferry Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

A group of people seeking more knowledge about the project traveled in a loop around the proposed area. The area spans about 60,000 acres and includes the Cascade, Myrtle Creek, Snow Creek and Caribou drainages, as well as Roman Nose, Dodge Peak and White Mountain. The project covers federal, state and private lands.

The project is in the pre-National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning phase. Early conversations with the collaborative group will help form the design of the project.

With people studying the land and waterways, they discovered a need to maintain and improve the forest health, ecosystem, watershed resilience, and ecosystem stressors.

According to the press release, prolonged droughts, insect and disease outbreaks, and the negative effects from large uncharacteristic wildfires are some ecosystem stressors. They have an emphasis on improving recreational use as well.

Working through the summer, the Forest Service resource specialists have strived to identify resource concerns or issues and opportunities. This information will be incorporated into a draft of proposed action that will be shared with the public during the scoping process.

This project is one of several Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) projects planned for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Over the past 19 years, they have worked with KVRI to strategize landscape development, address wildlife conservation, recovery of fisheries, water quality, wetlands conservation, riparian conservation, wildfire protection, forest restoration, and the upkeep of recreational areas.

According to the press release, this broad view of ecological health made KVRI one of the first collaborative groups in the nation to embrace an “all lands” approach and continue to play a crucial role in efforts towards achieving multiple-use land management goals.

Through this collaboration, a vital partnership was formed between KVRI and the Forest Service and a strong commitment to continue this partnership remains, after nearly two decades.

Once the scoping process starts, Westside Restoration Project information will be posted online and can be viewed at www.fs.usda.gov/projects/ipnf/landmanagement/projects.

The KVRI meets each month at the Boundary County Extension office. The next board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23.