Written by ppachuta on Mar 26, 2009 at 6:54 pm
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Idaho forest officials have proposed rules boosting the stringency of its visual quality rules for Galena Summit in Sawtooth National Forest. The move is aimed at making it harder for Ketchum-based Idaho Tower to construct a cell tower on the mountain, according to the Idaho Mountain Express and Guide.
The rule change is in response is in response to an earlier reversal of its rejection of the proposed Galena Summit tower after a regional U.S. Forest Service official found that Supervisor Jane Kollmeyer change the visual quality rules without notifying the public and seeking comment. The public is now getting its chance to weigh in on those changes.
The newspaper reported that Sawtooth officials claim their decision to make visual quality standards stricter for the summit was made after it was determined that a dirt road that leads to the proposed cell site receives more recreational use than previously thought. The cell tower proposal, however, has been in the works for almost eight years.
The 30-day comment period on the proposed rule change will end March 11. It is all part of the on-going dispute over whether a scenic ridge top in an Idaho National Forest can have a camouflaged cell tower.