Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest N F Madison Ranger District Tobacco Root Vegetation Management Plan

In a June 14, 2016 Order, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana directed the Forest Service to supplement the 2009 Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) FEIS with an evaluation of potential environmental consequences from MOUs signed in 2002 and 2008. The MOUs, signed by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Bureau of Land Management, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and two domestic sheep producers, describe how the parties would cooperate to facilitate reintroduction of bighorn sheep into the Greenhorn Mountains south of Alder, Montana. After evaluating potential environmental consequences of the 2002 and 2008 MOUs and a modification completed in 2016, the responsible official will consider the analysis in this SEIS and public comment to determine whether an amendment to Forest Plan direction is needed.

The strategy establishes a framework that restores and maintains ecosystem health in fire-adapted ecosystems for priority areas across the interior West. In accomplishing this, it is intended to improve the resilience and sustainability of forests and grasslands at risk, conserve priority watersheds, species and biodiversity, reduce wildland fire costs, losses, and damages, and better ensure public and firefighter safety.

Millions of years ago, the North American continent was dragged over the world's largest continental hotspot, a huge column of hot and molten rock rising from the Earth's interior that traced a 50-mile wide, 500-mile-long path northeastward across Idaho. Generating cataclysmic volcanic eruptions and large earthquakes, the hotspot helped lift the Yellowstone Plateau to more than 7,000 feet and pushed the northern Rockies to new heights, forming unusually large glaciers to carve the landscape. It also created the jewel of the U.S. national park system: Yellowstone. Meanwhile, forces stretching apart the western U.S. created the mountainous glory of Grand Teton National Park. These two parks, with their majestic mountains, dazzling geysers, and picturesque hot springs, are windows into the Earth's interior, revealing the violent power of the dynamic processes within. Smith and Siegel offer expert guidance through this awe-inspiring terrain, bringing to life the grandeur of these geologic phenomena as they reveal the forces that have shaped--and continue to shape--the greater Yellowstone-Teton region. Over seventy illustrations--including fifty-two in full color--illuminate the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, while two final chapters provide driving tours of the parks to help visitors enjoy and understand the regions wonders. Fascinating and informative, this book affords us a striking new perspective on Earth's creative forces.