Forest timber, trail project garners approval

The Flathead National Forest on Monday issued a final finding of no significant impact for the Taylor Hellroaring Project.

Forest Supervisor Chip Weber issued his decision notice on the timber management and trail project planned for the Tally Lake Ranger District northwest of Whitefish.

The project includes 28 miles of new trails and identifies about 1,800 acres of vegetation treatment that includes fuels reduction, improving wildlife habitat and restoring whitebark and western white pine in selected areas.

Implementation of the project is expected to begin in summer 2020.

Timber harvest is set to be completed using the Good Neighbor Authority with the Montana Department of Natural Resource Conservation, which allows the U.S. Forest Service to enter agreements with state forestry agencies for management work to improve forest health and productivity. The trail construction is expected to be done in collaboration with the Whitefish Face Working Group including Flathead Area Mountain Bikers, the Whitefish Trail, Whitefish Mountain Resort and other community partners.

“It is a privilege to collaborate with local residents and nonprofit organizations to achieve significant recreation and wildfire preparedness goals,” Weber said, in a release. “Working alongside such dedicated partners, we are able to realize so much more together. We look forward to continuing those strong working relationships as we move forward to implement this project.”

Weber, in his decision, said the project as a whole would “provide a range of trail experiences for hikers, mountain bikers, horse riders to connect to the local community with the Flathead National Forest,” increase forest resilience to insect and disease infestation, reduce the risk and severity of large scale stand-replacing fires to protect the wildland-urban interface, restore whitebark pine and western white pine where habitat conditions exist and improve wildlife habitat.

A draft decision on the project was released in August, which began a 45-day objection period. Nine objections were received by the forest service with two in support of the project.

Under trails, the project calls for constructing 28 miles of trails that would connect the Whitefish Trail system to existing forest service trails. The decision says this would “provide opportunities for users to disperse into more remote and challenging trails with great opportunities for solitude.”

About 14 miles of trail will also be located on existing open roads.

The portion of the Whitefish Trail in the project is about 4 miles, and is a link between the community trails and the Holbrook Overlook Trailhead.

“We are extremely excited that the decision to move the project forward has been signed,” said Heidi Van Everen with Whitefish Legacy Partners, in a statement. “In upcoming years, the community will have new opportunities to recreate in this Tally Lake Road front country area with a direct connection from town to adjacent public lands via the Whitefish Trail.”

The decision notes that the need for activities that would take place on trails is set out in the Flathead Forest Plan to provide the opportunity for public access that “connects people to nature.”

Work as part of the project also calls for upgrading the existing Holbrook Overlook parking area to a designated trailhead and crating up to 10 pullouts on open forest service roads.

Commercial thinning is planned on 527 acres to reduce tree density and allow for improved growth.

To reduce the fuels risk in the Wildland Urban Interface, and protect values such as Whitefish Mountain Resort and electronic sites along the Whitefish Divide, the project calls for 359 acres of hazardous fuels reduction and 500 acres of prescribed burns.

Vegetation management would reduce the risk of wildland fire from occurring in the area, and would reduce the intensity of a wildland fire if it were to occur, according to the decision.

Two activities are included to restore rust-resistant whitebark pine and western white pine — a portion of the commercial thinning would allow for planting of western white pine and rust-resistant whitebark pine would be planted on a portion of the 500 acres of prescribed burn treatments.

To facilitate the vegetation treatments, about 0.8 miles of road construction and 3.2 miles of existing roads would be used for the project. About a half-mile of temporary roads would be built and then rehabilitated following use.

Maintaining and improving wildlife species habitat and security would be accomplished through the project by creating openings, improving foraging and browsing areas, and facilitating tree growth would improve habitat.

The project came as the result of the U.S. Forest Service staff working with the Whitefish Face Working Group, which submitted a proposal to the forest in March 2015 that supported treatment of vegetation and provided a range of trail experiences including connectivity with existing trails.

The project was initiated and analyzed, but not approved in 2018 under the former 1986 Flathead National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, so analysis was updated to be compliant with the new 2018 Flathead National Forest Plan.

For more information, contact Tami MacKenzie, project leader, at 406-758-3508 or tamara.mackenzie@usda.gov, or the district office at 406-758-5204.

Project documents are available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=50518.