I've created this online petition in response to the recent news that yet another lawsuit was filed challenging the USFS Tenmile/South Helena Project.

The Tenmile/South Helena Project is the result of more than a decade of collaborative work of a broad cross-section of area stakeholders. This project seeks to, over 15 years, mitigate hazards that could contribute to devastating wildfire by thinning, logging and burning fuels on 17,500 acres of the project area. It is important to understand that this project, by reducing these fuels, will protect a vital source of water for the City of Helena, reduce the potential devastation of the spread of wildfire in the Helena area and markedly improve public safety and that of emergency responders who stand ready to protect us. It also has the added benefit of enhancing recreational activities and interests in the project area.

This latest lawsuit will delay or even stop this critical work. As a twenty year retired veteran and former Fire Chief of the Helena Fire Department, I can tell you that I consider wildfire as the greatest potential natural disaster that faces the Helena community. It is a risk that we can and must proactively work to significantly reduce the devastation before such disaster visits our city and our neighbors. The Tenmile/South Helena Project seeks to do just that. This latest lawsuit seeks to stop that.

We can't afford to wait. We have but to turn to the latest headlines to understand the catastrophic effects when wildfire visits communities such as ours. Lives are lost. Property, local economies, and area landscapes are ruined, not only during the event, but for years, sometimes decades after.

Please join me in support of the USFS Tenmile/South Helena Project by signing this petition. Pleas urge your friends and neighbors to rise in support of this critical work. A steering committee of local leaders is forming to draft a letter of community support that will hopefully complement any formal response to the court by our local governments. This petition should hopefully send a strong message as well.