The Flathead National Forest today announced the Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project has completed the planning process and is ready for implementation. The project is located on the national forest within the Whitefish Mountain Resort boundary. The project includes just under 200 acres of active management below and directly adjacent to critical infrastructure on the resort to safeguard operations and utilities. The fuels reduction work will complement recent and planned work on adjacent private lands.
“The fuels reduction work will be focused around critical resort infrastructure, reducing the likelihood of wildfire impacts to local recreation, the tourism economy, and the Whitefish community. We are planning to remove accumulated vegetation and dense trees along Chairs 1, 2, and 4 to safeguard resort operations from wildfire.” said Tally Lake District Ranger Bill Mulholland. “I’m pleased to see this project move to the implementation phase and look forward to this work being completed quickly, made possible through close partnership with Whitefish Mountain Resort.”
Brief disruptions to trail access are likely to occur during the implementation of this project. If temporary trail closures become necessary for public and operator safety, alternative routes and detours will be signed and available to maintain recreational access and opportunities while the project is underway.
Project activities will reduce stand density and remove ladder fuels, favoring fire tolerant tree species, using only existing roads for project implementation. Project activities would occur this summer. The project is using the Section 605 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA [16 U.S.C. 6591d]), Wildfire Resilience categorical exclusion.
More information can be found on the Big Mountain Fuels Project page. The finding of applicability and no extraordinary circumstances document can be found in the project document library. Please visit Whitefish Mountain Resort for summer trail information.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
Source: U.S. Forest Service
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