The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public input regarding a management plan for a 1,200-mile hiking trail that stretches from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail starts in Glacier National Park, passes through Northern Idaho and then ends in Olympic National Park in Washington.

While the trail has existed since the 1970s, Congress only approved legislation for the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail in 2009, adding it to the National Trails System. Other designated trails include the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

Congress directed the Forest Service to produce a management plan within two years of its passage. These plans are required for National Trails Systems routes to determine the carrying capacity of the trail and institute public oversight and management. 

Efforts to assess the trail were stuck in limbo for nearly 15 years. The federal agency launched the oversight process after the Yaak Valley Forest Council, a Lincoln County-based environmental group, filed a lawsuit.

The public comment period is a part of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, process. The first stage of public scoping was performed in the latter part of 2022. Those comments were used to craft the current comprehensive plan and environmental assessment, which were recently released to the public for this round of comments.

The public comment period ends April 17.

According to Dan Hottle, the Forest Service Northern Region press officer, the Forest Service is following the NEPA process and looking at possible management plans. Hottle described it as an important process to help guide management of the trail.

“We are developing a vision for its future, including recreational opportunities,” Hottle said.

In Lincoln County, the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail remains a longstanding flashpoint because it runs through a key grizzly core area.

“You don’t want a high use trail going through grizzly core,” said Ashley South, the community and communications manager for the Yaak Valley Forest Council, which opposes the trail in its current form. “It’s going to cause problems for locals, timber management and bear recovery.”

The trail passes through the northern part of the Yaak, South said. What’s best for the ecosystem and future management, she said, is to adjust the trail.

The environmentalist group has proposed what they call the southern reroute, which would run from Eureka down to Libby, and then northwest to Troy. The reroute, South said, would only go through 5% of grizzly core area as compared to the current trail.

The group is submitting comments addressing their proposed route change, according to South.

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners historically has opposed changing the trail’s route. In a 2020 letter sent to U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, the trio of elected officials expressed “strong opposition to the southern re-route proposed by the Yaak Valley Forest Council.” 

To review the draft management plan and environmental assessment go to https://fs.usda. gov/pnt/ and click on the “PNT Comprehensive Plan” button. Comments can be made through the “Get Connected” box.