Surprise! A lot of folks are starting to grumble about the level of secrecy surrounding Senator John Tester’s wilderness planning. This may just be a case of Tester practicing the “art of the possible,” but expect some additional ideas to get tossed in his lap. In the North Fork area, the long-standing Winton Weydemeyer Wilderness proposal is an obvious candidate.

The Flathead Beacon has an AP story discussing some of the complaints about the process . . .

A group of environmentalists and former supporters of Sen. Jon Tester are criticizing his office’s decision to keep quiet about legislative plans for a new Montana wilderness area.

Critics speaking out about the plan include many who want to see more wilderness themselves but argue the issue is so important that Tester’s office should disclose exactly what is being considered. They say the Montana Democrat’s proposal is the product of a secretive process open only to well-connected insiders.

Meanwhile, groups believed to have a say in negotiations, including the Montana Wilderness Association, hail the Tester’s work as a major step toward creating Montana’s first new wilderness designation since the 1980s. Tester spokesman Aaron Murphy said voters are encouraged to share their views on forest management.

Read the entire article . . .

As mentioned in a couple of earlier posts today, Sen. Jon Tester is looking at backing a number of possible wilderness designation proposals. The previous post links to an article giving a pretty good overview of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge proposals, but is quite vague on the one in the Seeley Lake area and another in “northwestern Montana.” However, there were enough clues to track down some useful information.

Turns out, the “northwestern Montana” item is part of the “Three Rivers Challenge,” a legislative proposal put together by the Lincoln County Coalition that would affect the Kootenai National Forest. A draft of the proposal is available on their web site.

The Seeley Lake area proposed wilderness designation is primarily an extension to the southwestern boundaries of the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wildernesses. It’s part of a larger package put together by the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Project. Their web site contains a summary of the wilderness designation proposal, as well as a project map.

The Flathead Beacon posted a much more complete AP article on Senator Jon Tester’s wilderness area plans than the one we linked to earlier today. There’s more detail on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge proposal, which appears to be somewhat contentious. It also reveals that the Seeley Lake area proposal came from the Blackfoot-Clearwater Stewardship Project and the one in northwestern Montana originated from Three Rivers Challenge.

Here’s the lead-in . . .

Wilderness advocates and key officials say Sen. Jon Tester’s office has plans to bring Montana its first new wilderness designation since the 1980s.

But Tester’s office is keeping details quiet — just saying that anyone interested in how forests are managed should contact the senator.

Plans for the designation of a new wilderness area draw on separate proposals that have been in the works for years, say advocates who hope legislation will fast-track hundreds of thousands of acres into wilderness status.

Read the entire article for more information . . .