February 7, 2025

Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance submitted detailed comments today in regard to the Comprehensive River Management Plan for the Flathead Wild and Scenic River System.

GTMA supports the plan's fundamental purpose of protecting and enhancing the remarkable values and characteristics of the Flathead Wild and Scenic River system, but we are strongly concerned about the Proposed Action for being overly focused on recreation management while neglecting other important resources. We argue that the proposal lacks crucial information about user capacity calculations, current usage data, and resource conditions, making it difficult for the public to provide meaningful feedback on monitoring thresholds and management actions. Based on our observations and expertise, we believe recreational trends are contributing to declining resource conditions, and we advocate for developing a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) instead of an Environmental Assessment (EA), including alternatives that consider permit systems and usage limitations for certain river sections.

GTMA submitted additional comments and suggestions. To learn more about our views on the Comprehensive River Management Plan, read the full comments here.