Meeting looks at Whitefish fuels reduction project

The Flathead National Forest is hosting a collaborative meeting Monday to allow community members to provide input on the proposed Whitefish Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction Project.

The meeting will be Feb. 8 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the forest Supervisor’s Office, 650 Wolfpack Way in Kalispell.

Project resource specialists will present details on the draft project, which is located about four miles north east of Whitefish, adjacent to Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Proposed activities include timber harvest on approximately 260 acres of forest lands and fuel treatments, primarily prescribed burning, on approximately 880 acres.

Lands within the proposed project area were designated by Gov. Steve Bullock in 2014 as a priority landscape under the federal Farm Bill.

During the 2013 session, the Montana Legislature granted the governor the authority to spend up to $5 million from the fire suppression fund on grants to the U.S. Forest Service.

The money is directed toward projects within those priority areas for which there is not sufficient funding.

The Whitefish project will get $80,000 from the state for botany and soil surveys, transportation analysis, fuel and stand diagnostics and sale preparation and planning.

The 1,300-acre project would produce 150,000 commercial board-feet and 100,000 noncommercial board- feet of timber. Located within Whitefish’s municipal watershed, the project would break up contiguous forest areas to mitigate the effects of potential wildfire.

For further information about the project and open house, visit www.fs.usda.gov/projects/flathead, or contact Deb Bond at (406) 758-5204.