TRAILS -- The citizen council that advises the Forest Service on the tri-state Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNNST) will meet Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 2-3 at the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, Montana.

The council will provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service on the long-term management, signing and marking of the route that crosses public and some private lands across the north portions of Washington and Idaho into Western Montana.

The Pacific Northwest Trail runs 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava in Olympic National Park. The trail travels through seven National Forests, three National Parks, tribal, state, and private lands in Montana, Idaho, and Washington.

The council is composed of 24 citizens appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to represent a balance of interests from across the trail. It also includes representatives of federal and state land management agencies.

The conference agenda includes time each day for testimony from the public. Written testimony may also be submitted in advance of the meeting by email to pnnstcomments@fs.fed.us.

In 2009, Congress designated the Pacific Northwest Trail as the newest of America’s 11 National Scenic Trails. The Forest Service is responsible for preparing a comprehensive plan for long-term management of the trail. The agency plans to hold a series of public scoping meetings on the comprehensive plan in 2017.