The citizen council that advises the Forest Service on the new Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNNST) will meet November 2 – 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana.
The council will discuss and provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service on the long-term management of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail including the Nature and Purposes of the PNNST, recreational trail uses, and signing and marking the trail.
The council is composed of 24 citizens appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to represent a balance of interests from across the trail. It also includes representatives of federal and state land management agencies.
All meetings of the council are open to the public. The agenda includes time each day for testimony from the public. Written testimony may also be submitted in advance of the meeting by email to pnnstcomments@fs.fed.us.
The Pacific Northwest Trail runs 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava in Olympic National Park. The trail travels through seven National Forests, three National Parks, tribal, state, and private lands in Montana, Idaho, and Washington.
In 2009, Congress designated the Pacific Northwest Trail as the newest of America’s 11 National Scenic Trails. The Forest Service is responsible for preparing a comprehensive plan for long-term management of the trail. The agency plans to hold a series of public scoping meetings on the comprehensive plan in 2017.
