Seven projects under way in Boundary County's forests
Several projects are under way or in the planning stages within the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. The Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative Forestry sub-committee reviewed the progress of the projects at their last meeting of 2013.
Eastport Helicopter Project
The economics of helicopter harvesting are being discussed for a portion of the 2008 Ruby Cooper project that wasn’t finished near Eastport. The project is a dry site of old-growth Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine within a Wildland Urban Interface and contains ladder fuels.
Treatment would include 1.2 mmbf of trees generally less than 14 inch diameter at breast height and underburning to remove ladder fuels, thin, open the unit, and restore areas of scattered old growth. The area hasn’t burned since 1905.
The Myrtle Creek area and Dry Wall timber sale (above Meadow Creek Road) projects used similar silvicultural prescriptions to restore pockets of dry site old-growth.
Kreist Creek Project
The Kreist Creek project area covers 11,000 acres and the final environmental assessment draft is expected in February, with a final decision at the end of May. The volume target consists of two sales for fiscal year 2015: 3.2 mmbf in the Placer Nugget sale and 8.5 mmbf in the Kreist Creek sale.
Six more temporary roads were added to the plan for a total of 2.4 miles.
The roads will be decommissioned after the project is complete. Some units will be logged by helicopter due to terrain.
Also added to the sale was a roadside salvage environmental assessment.
Twenty Mile Project
The USFWS wildlife review is expected to begin in January. The US Forest Service is waiting on the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office for plans on the Black Mountain lookout relocation.
Hellroaring Project
The environmental assessment is expected to be released in January or February on the approximately 10,000 acre project analysis area.
Then a draft decision will be made by the USFS and an objection period will follow.
A formal consultation needs to be held with the USFWS since the project proposes pre-commercial thinning activity in lynx habitat.
Discussions have been ongoing about pre-commercial thinning, regeneration, stocked units, roads, old cuts and trails.
Idaho Buckhorn Burn Project
Once a decision is announced for this project, it can be implemented by the USFS. The USFS is waiting for a report concerning cultural resources by the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office.
The Forest Service is developing burn plans for some units in the 4,000 acre burn area for the spring of 2014.
The project includes plans for burning units in stages because of the cultural importance of huckleberry bushes in the area. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has awarded a $5,000 burn grant for this project.
No timber targets are associated with the project.
Deer Project
The Deer Project analysis area consists of 30,000 acres within the geographic area of Meadow Creek Road, Dawson Lake, Dawson Ridge and Goat Mountain.
Project opportunities include forest health and resiliency, forest habitat, and winter range habitat for wildlife. The project’s purpose and need are being developed and plans will go out for scoping in late spring.
Boulder Creek Basin Project
The Forest Service is analyzing data for the Boulder Creek Basin Project slated for implementation and sale in fiscal year 2016.
The area spans the entire Boulder Creek watershed, bounded by the Kootenai River near the Montana State line, head of Boulder Meadows and Black Mountain.
The area includes Idaho roadless areas, a research natural area and a bear management unit.
Opportunities for the project include dry site restoration, helicopter burning of open brush fields, and helicopter logging. The Forest Service will also be looking at wildlife wintering areas, ATV compliance and mining claims while analyzing field data.