Prescribed burns planned in Whitefish watershed

Widespread prescribed burns and some timber harvesting is proposed for the mountains above Haskill Basin in an effort to prevent a devastating wildfire from spoiling the creeks that feed Whitefish’s drinking water supply.

A good crowd turned out for an open house Oct. 21 in Whitefish to learn more about and provide comments on the Whitefish Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction Project.

The project falls under the Farm Bill passed by Congress in 2014 that designates 5 million acres of Forest Service land in Montana with expedited review to address wildfire risks in areas with weakened forests.

The collaborative Whitefish Face Working Group — which includes forestry officials, recreationists and conservationists — met twice a month for the past year and recommended the treatment plan the Forest Service is now moving forward with.

About 800 acres of prescribed burns along the south face of the Whitefish Range above Haskill Basin highlight the proposal. The work area runs from the eastern edge of Whitefish Mountain Resort’s permit boundary toward the east end of Haskill Basin. Most of the terrain is high-elevation and steep with limited access.

Forest Service fire management officer Mike West notes that wildfire hasn’t hit the area in nearly 100 years. Dead and dying trees have the forest loaded with fuels and ripe for fire activity.

“It’s within the variable for a stand replacement event,” West said, pointing to a map that shows the area above Haskill Basin where two fires last burned in 1919.

West said the forest’s proximity to Whitefish isn’t too much of a concern since prevailing winds would likely carry a fire over the ridge toward Canyon Creek. Rather, it’s protecting the watershed that’s the main priority.

Prescribed burns, West said, can bring wildfire back into the landscape with conditions less severe than a full bore stand replacement blaze.

“Prescribed burns give the option to control it,” he said.

Controlling the severity of the fire is key.

Forest Service hydrologist Nate Dieterich says a big fire could be destructive to the city’s water supply with the likelihood of scorched soils and increased sediment eroding into Second and Third Creeks — which provides about 75 percent of the city’s drinking water.

“It could be problematic for the city at the intakes,” he said.

“Our No. 1 goal in this project is to protect the water.”

West said the prescribed burn work will take place in the autumn and could go on for numerous years.

“It may take awhile to find the window with the right conditions,” he said, noting that air quality concerns will be an important factor in deciding when to burn.

He expects the burns to leave a mosaic forest, including some patches of stand replacement.

Timber harvest is planned for some 300 acres, mostly on the lower flanks of the range that are accessible by established roads and temporary road extensions. Roughly 1 million board feet of lumber is estimated to be harvested.

Visual impacts will vary, said Barbara Jackson of the Forest Service.

Much of the low elevation timber harvest work won’t be seen from Whitefish.

Commercial thinning operations will leave a textured look on the landscape, while seed tree work will leave the forest more open, Jackson said. Plans include feathering the edges of work areas so no hard lines are left on the landscape.

Wildlife biologist Amy Jacobs notes that the mountains above Haskill Basin are home to a diversity of animals. Grizzly bears are known to den in the high elevations, which is one reason why no new roads are planned for the project area. The mountains are also home to black bears, deer, wolves, pine martens and pileated woodpeckers, among other critters.

Jacobs said the project will have short- and long-term impacts on animals. In the years immediately following the prescribed burns, the forest will be too open for some of the animals.

“But for other animals, that’s good,” she said, noting that the goal is to find a balance.

Impacts on recreation will be minimal, said Hans Castren, recreation officer at the Forest Service. The Flower Point trail on Big Mountain will be impacted for a short time during mechanical fuel reduction work. Other than that, some views will be altered from the summit of Big Mountain after work is complete.

To learn more about the project, visit online at www.fs.usda.gov/projects/flathead/landmanagement/projects

Comments are being accepted until Dec. 3.