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HAMILTON - Following an unruly meeting last week in Darby, the Bitterroot National Forest will host its second travel management planning meeting Tuesday night - albeit with a revised format and time.

The Hamilton meeting will be conducted using an open house format, during which people will be invited to stop by the Bitterroot River Inn any time between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

U.S. Forest Service staff members will be available to explain the proposed travel plan update and answer questions.

There will be no formal presentations by Forest Service employees and verbal comments won't be collected at the meeting. Instead, written comment forms will be available.

The agency changed the format following a crowded and sometimes contentious meeting in Darby last week at which some participants felt threatened and the tone of some comments was hostile.

Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Dave Bull said he hopes people will be respectful in the future.

“We recognize the importance of travel management to forest users and I appreciate that so many people attended Wednesday's meeting in Darby,” Bull said. “However, I expect people to be respectful of other participants, and I will not tolerate unruly or threatening behavior at

our meetings.”

“As individuals and as a community, we lose immeasurably if we cannot hold civil discussions in which we thoughtfully listen to and express diverse opinions,” he said.

Following the Darby meeting, the agency decided to cancel a meeting scheduled last week for Stevensville. A third meeting in the north end of the Bitterroot Valley will be rescheduled, officials said.

The agency is also planning to host individual meetings at the Bitterroot National Forest supervisor's office in Hamilton in the near future, said forest spokesperson Nan Christianson.

The forest will take appointments for those meetings. Walk-ins will also be accepted.

Christianson said officials are still working out the details of the individual meetings.

The comment period for the proposed action on the update for the travel management plan has been extended until Feb. 29. The document was released in September, and initially public comments were due in late November.

For additional information, call any of the Bitterroot National Forest offices in Hamilton (363-7100), Stevensville (777-5461), Darby (821-3913), Sula (821-3201) or the West Fork (821-3269).

Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at pbackus@missoulian.com.

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