COLVILLE - A series of public workshops will be held by the Colville National Forest to help the agency evaluate inventoried roadless areas within the forest for their potential recommendation as wilderness, according to a U.S. Forest Service announcement.
     Evaluation of such areas for potential wilderness recommendation is a required step in the forest plan revision process.
     The first workshop is planned for Sept. 6 in Colville, and will be followed by a general information meeting in Spokane in mid-September, the announcement continued.
     "The collaborative workshops will be open to all members of the public, not just to those individuals who participated in the previous effort," said Margaret Hartzell, forest plan revision team leader.
     "To honor past collaborative public discussions on wilderness, we'll be incorporating information gained from the 2007 collaborative round-up in this process," she said.
     More information, including meeting notes and public recommendations from the 2007 round of collaboration workshops and a list of recommended reading to prepare for the 2008 workshops, is available at www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/forest-plan.
     A draft of the revised forest plan is targeted for release to the public in March 2010, according to the announcement.
     Meeting will include:
     - Colville orientation meeting - 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 6, Stevens County Sheriff's Ambulance Training Center, Colville.
     - Ferry County workshop - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, Republic Elementary School.
     - Collaboration integration meeting - 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 15, Institute for Extended Learning Colville Center, Colville.
     More information is available from Debbie Kelly, public affairs specialist, 826-3396.