Input sought on forest-thinning project near Olney

The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on a proposed tree-thinning project on Flathead National Forest land about a mile west of Olney to reduce the risk of extreme wildfire behavior in the area.

The Jackknife Project would cover about 2,071 acres along the Good Creek Road within the Tally Lake Ranger District. Of the project area, about 1,234 acres would go to commercial timber harvest, and about 256 acres would be treated for noncommercial purposes, according to a letter from District Ranger Bill Mulholland. About 7% of the land within the project area is privately owned and will not be worked on.

The project, which is still in the initial "scoping" phase, would involve various methods of clearing underbrush and dense tree canopies that increase the severity of wildfires. Crews also would seed some areas to promote the growth of fire-resistant species like ponderosa pine, western larch and western white pine.

"Fire exclusion in the project area has resulted in dense or mature forest stands with multiple layers of tree canopies that serve as ladder fuels and accumulations of fuels," the Forest Service said in a project memo. "These dense forest conditions increase the likelihood that fuel characteristics could support a fast-moving, intense crown fire with increased resistance to control, which could threaten life and private property within the wildland-urban interface."

More information and a map of the Jackknife Project can be found at fs.usda.gov/project/?project=60401.

The deadline for public comment is July 28. Comments can be mailed to project leader Tami MacKenzie at 650 Wolfpack Way in Kalispell, or emailed to comments-northern-flathead-tally-lake@usda.gov. For emailed comments, the subject line must include "Jackknife Project."

Assistant editor Chad Sokol may be reached at 406-758-4439 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com.