4A

Lawsuit Prompts Forest Service to Reinstate Elk Security Standard

Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest has decided to withdraw a controversial change in elk security requirements in the Divide area near Helena that sportsmen’s groups argued in a lawsuit could have negatively impacted big-game habitat. The Divide Area west of Helena includes about 155,480 acres of public land located in Lewis and Clark and Powell counties. In March, the Forest Service removed the Big Game 4a standard. That standard required secure areas for elk and other big game species on …