Update on the Seeley Lake Regional Plan
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Great news regarding the Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update!
After several weeks of careful consideration, the Missoula County Planning Board voted in favor of the Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update with just a couple of recommended amendments. This is a big victory for the residents of the Seeley Lake Region, particularly the Seeley Lake Community Council, who have spent the last three years forming an inclusive and appropriate land use guide.
To provide a little background on the Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update:
Folks from the northeastern portion of the county, from Seeley Lake to Greenough, are offering the Missoula County Commissioners an update to the Seeley Lake Regional Plan that protects rural livelihoods and landscapes. The Regional Planning area is vast, and needs an update as land use patterns change and more people move to the area. This document will provide the foundation for future zoning.
Here are a few reasons why we support the Plan:
- It was written by a diverse group of rural residents, the Seeley Lake Community Council, over a period of three years with ample public input, and technical assistance from the Missoula County office of Rural Initiatives.
- The Seeley Lake Community Council carefully drafted the Plan to grandfather in existing uses. People who currently own a business or home can keep using the land just as they are today.
- It appropriately directs most new housing and business activity to areas that already provide critical services like water, police and fire protection, saving taxpayers' money.
- The Plan identifies places highly valued by the community for other purposes, like wildlife habitat, farming and ranching or timber harvest, and directs high-density housing toward places where these uses will not be compromised.
- The Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update helps to keep intact the Clearwater Watershed (Crown of the Continent Ecosystem). This area links the Mission Mountain Wilderness Area, Glacier National Park, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area and serves as an important migratory corridor for wildlife in the area.
In the next few weeks we'll be getting ready for the Board of County Commissioners to take public comment on the Plan and to make their deliberations. Ultimately, their vote will determine whether or not the Plan is put into action. Here are some short blurbs about why we think that the individual Commissioners should be inclined to vote in favor of the Seeley Lake Regional Plan Update:
Commissioner Bill Carey (Chair for 2009)- Bill Carey is a former Peace Corps volunteer and worked as the Director for the Missoula Food Bank for ten years in addition to serving in the Montana House of Representatives. Commissioner Carey seems supportive of protecting land in Montana; on the Five Valleys Land Trust website, Carey is quoted as saying that opening avenues of land conservation to rural residents "is critical in a rapidly growing area such as Missoula County. The fate of Missoula County's landscape legacy - its agricultural lands, timberlands, river corridors, wildlife habitats, and scenic open spaces- relies on the choices rural landowners make" (http://www.fvlt.org/protection/accomplishment/working.html).
Commissioner Jean Curtiss- Her professional career was focused on early childhood development. She is currently the President of Bitter Root Economic Development District. Jean grew up in the Swan Valley and graduated from Seeley-Swan High. Hopefully, Commissioner Curtiss can identify with the desire to protect the breathtaking landscapes around Seeley Lake because of her childhood connection to the area. In an interview with the Missoula Chamber of Commerce, Commissioner Curtis responded that she places an emphasis on "Protecting and preserving clean water, the natural environmental, and our working farms, ranches, and timberlands." (http://www.missoulachamber.com/advocacy/Attachment_N-1.pdf)
Commissioner Michele Landquist- Commissioner Michele Landquist earned her BA in biology and natural history from the University of Montana. Some of her past work has been as a field coordinator for the Watershed Education Network, in small business (she owned and operated Custom Cleaning Service), and with Montana Recycling Center. Commissioner Landquist also served as the Executive Director of Lolo Watershed Group. Her family owns a small sheep farm in Lolo. Her small farm experiences may provide us leverage as she is more likely to understand the issues facing rural Montana and the ways increasing development threatens this way of life.
To encourage the commissioners to vote in favor of the Plan, Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund is organizing a sign-on letter for various groups to express their support. So far, The Big Blackfoot Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Clark Fork Coalition, and Hellgate Hunters and Anglers are signed on for sure. We're still in the process of approaching National Wildlife Federation, Montana Wildlife Federation, Five Valleys Audubon, Montana Wilderness Association, Smart Growth Coalition, Northwest Connections, and Sierra Club. We'll also be asking people to submit letters to the editor drawing positive attention to the Plan and getting signatures on postcards urging the BCC to vote "Yes".
Overall, it seems as though the Board of County Commissioners is inclined to support the SLRP, but Plum Creek Timber has voiced its "disappointment" over some of the lower density land designations. Since they own 80% of the private land in the planning area, they could make this an uphill battle for those who want to protect the rural landscapes and livelihoods in the Seeley Lake area.
So what can you do to help? Email me: Cari@mtvoters.org ! I'm looking for letter to the editor writers and for clipboarding volunteers for when I hit the streets and mingle with the good people of Missoula. Additionally, if you work with any of the groups listed that have yet to sign on to our letter of support, let me know. It would be great to have an insider to help bring them into the fold.
Thanks so much for your time and support, getting a positive vote from the Board of County Commissioners will be made tremendously easier with your participation!
Sincerely,
Cari Kimball
Outreach Coordinator
Montana Conservation Voters / Montana Conservation Voters Education Fund
406.546.2125 mobile
