Ranger District open house provides summary of ongoing, planned projects

The Lincoln Ranger District hosted an open house Thursday Jan. 30 to update interested residents on projects on the district, and to hear feedback on a proposed wildfire resilience project in the Hogum Creek area.

Stonewall Vegetation Project

Helena - Lewis and Clark Forest Supervisor Bill Avey signed the decision on the Stonewall Vegetation Project in 2016, with work set to begin in 2017. A lawsuit filed by the Alliance for Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council led to an injunction that prevented implementation of the plan. About a month after the injunction, lightning strikes ignited the Park Creek and Arrastra Creek areas, burning 56 percent of the project area.

"Because of the fire we decided to pull back, analyze the effect of the fire in this area and was there still an opportunity to do dome vegetation work, some type of restoration in there," Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry said. "Smart folks put a lot of time and effort into it. The Forest Service decided that yes, there is still wildfire risk out there; there is still insect and disease that need to be treated. We put together a draft supplemental environmental impact statement and we are moving forward."

Avey signed the record of decision for the amended project Dec. 19 and implementation of the new plan could begin this year, but Stansberry said they've received a Freedom of Information Act request for all their records, an indication the project will wind up back in the courts.

Willow Creek Vegetation Project

The Willow Creek Vegetation Project, a 2140-acre project related to insect and disease in the Dalton Mountain area signed by Avey in May, is currently on hold due to another lawsuit filed last June by the Alliance for Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council. The groups allege it violates the National Environmental Protection Act.

"It's really a key area to get some project work done," Stansberry said. "It sits right up against the community. The fuel load in there is incredible. We know there is a lot of insect and disease. This project we are planning to put in place there could do a lot of good in that area."

Wasson Creek

Stansberry said they are taking a different tack on the Wasson Creek thinning project on the west side of the district, in Powell county.

"It's 62 acres. Because it's that small and so surgical, it provides a couple things for us. It provides good restoration to a key area," he said. "Because of the fuel load and prevailing winds in the area, we can have some effect, even though it's that small...on extreme fire behavior. We can also do some economic simulations especially for our 'mom and pop' mills in the area."

He said it's something they can sign at the district level and expects to do so in the coming weeks, with implementation likely in June.

New trails

The meeting also addressed progress of the Non-winter travel plan implementation. The plan was signed in 2017 and, unlike the vegetation projects, hasn't been the subject of litigation.

Josh Lattin, the district's resource specialist said they've completed several of the new ATV trails included in the plan.

"We're mostly done with the new ... Lincoln View Trail," he said. "That one goes all the way across from the Pine Grove campground at Beaver Creek, connects over the top with the old Lincoln townsite and after that it connects to Lone Point Road. It's about 12 miles in length."

Other completed ATV trails include a connector from west Hogum to Crater Mountain Road and a cutoff from Sucker Creek Road to the Stonewall trail.

"The trails we've built are purpose built for ATVs. They're narrow, have tighter turns, dips (and are) more fun, more challenging that just going on a regular road," he said. The next OHV trails they'll build are in the Third Gulch, Bartlett and Mike Horse. He said they are mostly road-to-trail conversions with connector trails to make looped routes.

Lattin said they completed the four-mile 'lower' mountain bike trail in the Beaver Creek area last year, with the six-mile 'upper' trail expected to be completed this summer. He said there are more trails they could build under the plan, depending on funding and community desire.

Cabin rentals

Lattin said the district is also adding two cabins online for the rental system, in addition to the Cummings Cabin and the Granite Butte Lookout.

"One is the old administrative site on Nevada Creek," Lattin said."We've fixed it up, put a well in, put a bathroom in. That will be available for rent next spring."

He said the Indian Meadows guard station will also be available for rent in the winter, accessible by skis or snowmobiles. The cabins will be available for rent on the recreation.gov website, but Lattin said reservations should be made about six months out.

Prescribed burns

Prescribed burning is also in the works for 2020. "What's critical to us is to have a very active prescribed fire program." Stansberry.

Jarel Kurtz, the district fire management officer, said they have a cooperative 400-acre burn planned in the Helmville Face area this year involving the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Managment and the Mannix Brothers Ranch.

"We'll be burning across all three boundaries," Kurtz said. "The intent is fuels reduction and...to restore our elk winter range, and for the Mannix Brothers, they're interested in improving their grazing."

He said they're also planning a 300-acre prescribed burn in the Poorman Creek drainage this year.

"The last thing we do for the district, we do every year, is any jackpots or concentrations of fuels across the district, primarily associated with firewood cutting and that kind of stuff. We would be trying to clean up as much of that debris as we can."

Hogum/Humbug

The open house presentation wrapped up with a look at the Hogum-Humbug Project.

The district unveiled the project in December, which is being developed with the help of the Forest Service Northern Region "NEPA strike team" led by Dan Pliley."

Dan Casselli, who has been working on the project for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest for several months, explained that the project area, centered mainly in the Hogum Creek area outside the Crater Mountain and Specimen Creek Inventoried Roadless areas, fits really well with the wildfire resilience authority included in the 2018 Omnibus Bill. As with the Farm Bill authority related to insect and disease, the project can't exceed 3000 acres.

"It also helps where we have these insects and disease stands where we have some high fuel loads," Casselli said.

Pliley, who had been talking to Hogum-area residents before the open house presentation began, said his team will integrate with the local specialists to help shepard the project through the NEPA process and will continue to seek local input.

"We're looking forward to working with you all, gathering your input. We welcome your feedback. Speaking with a few of you already we've got some good ideas of where to go and some areas that need help," he said.

The team plans to host more public meeting this spring as the project moves forward, with a field trip expected later in the spring.

"It's a good conversation to have one-on –one and for our folks to be able to hear concerns and questions," Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry told the BVD as the gathering wound down. He said it's critical for them to hear from people the plan will directly affect about the types of treatments they'd like to see.

For more information on the projects on the Lincoln Ranger District, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/hlcnf/landmanagement/projects.