Open for comment · closes November 24
Oppose Skillet Fire salvage logging near Tally Lake
U.S. Forest Service · Flathead National Forest, Tally Lake Ranger District
- What
- The Forest Service wants to log dead and dying trees across about 1,550 acres burned by the 2026 Skillet Fire in Flathead National Forest.
- Where
- Flathead National Forest, Tally Lake Ranger District, Skillet Fire footprint, MT
- How much
- approximately 1,550 acres acres proposed for salvage; approximately 3,100 acres national Forest acres burned; July 29, 2026 fire report date
- By when
- Comments to U.S. Forest Service by November 24, 2026.Date from Forest Service CARA comment page ↗, read November 10, 2026.
What to ask forAll 3 points →
The Forest Service should explain why an EA is enough, or prepare an EIS.
Where these four lines come from
- WhatOur plain-English read of the Forest Service project page ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words under Case.
- WhereThe places and states the project page names, as PLAN read them.
- approximately 1,550 acres“This project proposes to salvage dead and dying trees on approximately 1,550 acres of NFS lands within the 2026 Skillet Fire footprint on the Tally Lake Ranger District.” Project Summary Open the document ↗
- approximately 3,100 acres“The Flathead National Forest portion of the fire (approximately 3,100 acres) burned in heavy timber in the Bowen Creek, Robertson Creek, Alder Creek, and Sunday Pass areas.” Location Summary Open the document ↗
- July 29, 2026“The Skillet Fire was reported on July 29, 2026, roughly 15 miles from Olney, Montana in the Bowen Creek area of the Tally Lake District, Flathead National Forest.” Location Summary Open the document ↗
- By whenNovember 24, 2026, from Forest Service CARA comment page, the notice text ↗: “requested through 11/24/2026 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time)”. Read November 10, 2026.
- Read from PLAN’s record November 10, 2026.
Two ways to be heard on this, and both count. Comment for the legal record, then call the members who answer to you.
Comment now3 holes in the agency’s own analysis
Make these points, in your own words
The notice proposes salvage logging on about 1,550 acres of a fire that burned in heavy timber, and says it expects only an Environmental Assessment.Read the point +
It gives no reason why an EA is enough for logging on this scale in several named drainages. The Forest Service should explain why an EA is enough, or prepare an EIS.
The notice says the project is for 'Fuels management; Vegetation management (other than forest products)' yet describes commercial-style salvage of trees.Read the point +
The stated purpose does not match the action, and no purpose and need is given. The agency should state a clear purpose and need, say whether timber will be sold, and report the volume and revenue.
The fire was reported July 29, 2026. The notice lists the status as Pre NEPA and leaves the milestone dates for NEPA start and decision blank.Read the point +
The public cannot tell when comments are due. The agency should publish a full schedule and give a comment period long enough to review the analysis. It should not skip steps because of the fire.
Say something only you can say. The law requires the agency to consider and respond to substantive comments, and specifics are what make a comment substantive.
Affects public lands
The Forest Service wants to log dead and dying trees across about 1,550 acres burned by the 2026 Skillet Fire in Flathead National Forest.
What’s at risk
If this goes through
Our plain-English read of the official notice ↗. Check it against the agency’s own words below.
By the numbers, from the agency’s own document
- Acres proposed for salvage
Project Summary
Open the document ↗“This project proposes to salvage dead and dying trees on approximately 1,550 acres of NFS lands within the 2026 Skillet Fire footprint on the Tally Lake Ranger District.”
- National Forest acres burned
Location Summary
Open the document ↗“The Flathead National Forest portion of the fire (approximately 3,100 acres) burned in heavy timber in the Bowen Creek, Robertson Creek, Alder Creek, and Sunday Pass areas.”
- Fire report date
Location Summary
Open the document ↗“The Skillet Fire was reported on July 29, 2026, roughly 15 miles from Olney, Montana in the Bowen Creek area of the Tally Lake District, Flathead National Forest.”
Source: the agency’s document ↗
The agency’s own analysis
What the notice says, and what it leaves out
Each one is a point a letter can put on the record.
The agency says
“The Flathead National Forest portion of the fire (approximately 3,100 acres) burned in heavy timber in the Bowen Creek, Robertson Creek, Alder Creek, and Sunday Pass areas.”
The notice proposes salvage logging on about 1,550 acres of a fire that burned in heavy timber, and says it expects only an Environmental Assessment.
The agency says
“This project proposes to salvage dead and dying trees on approximately 1,550 acres of NFS lands within the 2026 Skillet Fire footprint on the Tally Lake Ranger District.”
The notice says the project is for 'Fuels management; Vegetation management (other than forest products)' yet describes commercial-style salvage of trees.
The agency says
“The Skillet Fire was reported on July 29, 2026, roughly 15 miles from Olney, Montana in the Bowen Creek area of the Tally Lake District, Flathead National Forest.”
The fire was reported July 29, 2026.
In the agency’s own words
This project proposes to salvage dead and dying trees on approximately 1,550 acres of NFS lands within the 2026 Skillet Fire footprint on the Tally Lake Ranger District.
The groups on this fight
4 groups predicted likely to care in Montana
Predicted likely to care is a guess from the group's sourced work in Montana, with no link to this decision. Give straight to them; nothing routes through us.
- American Prairie
Predicted likely to care · a guess
American Prairie, Montana: Defending its own bison herd, formally protesting BLM's revocation of grazing permits on 63,000 public-land acres.
- Defenders of Wildlife
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, Montana: Named plaintiff in the Rock Creek Mine case, which turned on threatened grizzly bears and bull trout.
- Earthjustice
Predicted likely to care · a guess
Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, Montana: Counsel in the long-running litigation against the Rock Creek and Montanore mines proposed beneath the wilderness.
- Western Watersheds Project
Predicted likely to care · a guess
American Prairie, Montana: Filed a protest against BLM's revocation of the bison grazing permits.
Every group above is on STAND for Public Lands, with its court record, its filings and who backs it.
Who signs it
The notice names no signer PLAN could read. PLAN names a decision-maker only when the document names one.
The ground
Flathead National Forest
The photograph on this page: Bull elk in autumn aspens. It’s the country this decision sits in, not the site itself. More Than Just Parks.
In court on this ground
This fight isn’t bound to a land unit in PLAN’s record yet, so there are no court cases to show for its ground.
Who holds the vote
PLAN’s record doesn’t tie a member of Congress to this fight yet. The scorecard grades the votes and bills that decide public lands; nothing joins a vote or a bill to this decision, so there’s no member to name here without guessing.
See how your members vote ↗Calling your two senators and your representative is the Call door on this page.
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