State approves timber harvest above lake
A timber-harvesting project on 5,570 acres overlooking Whitefish Lake has been approved by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
Stillwater State Forest unit manager Brian Manning and Kalispell unit manager Greg Poncin signed off on the proposed Beaver-Swift-Skyles timber sale project last week.
Timber harvesting in the Beaver Lake area has gone on since 1919, but the most recent large-scale activity took place between 1999 and 2004, when the existing road system was revamped and about 6 million board-feet of timber was harvested.
The proposed project calls for harvesting about 5 million board-feet of timber from 882 acres within the timber sale area. About 3.5 miles of temporary road would be constructed to access the harvest area and then reclaimed to near-natural contours following use.
In explaining their decision, Manning and Poncin cited the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan, which calls for reducing the risk of catastrophic fire and emphasizes traditional uses, such as forestry. They also cited the need to generate income for public schools and universities; harvest levels mandated by state statute; and a requirement to salvage timber damaged by insects, fires or wind before it loses value by decay.
The proposal was modified to address visual impacts, particularly from the east side of Whitefish Lake. About 20 of 22 acres proposed for harvesting in an area where skyline or cable yarding will likely be visible — harvest area BB — will be delayed to allow DNRC to monitor aesthetic effects. Cable corridors can stand out as straight lines when seen head-on from a distance.
The project's environmental assessment document states that visual changes from City Beach would be "nearly imperceptible," but residents on Houston Point would see the largest number of affected acres.
Other steps that will be taken to mitigate aesthetic impacts include limiting the size of timber landings and shielding them with trees; promoting use of logging slash for biomass; retaining a variety of species and diameter-class trees; feathering the edges of unit boundaries; leaving some trees standing grouped in clumps; and locating temporary roads on benches to avoid cuts and fills.
To protect water quality, fisheries and soils, the project would follow applicable 'streamside management zone" rules, and skid trail systems would be constructed under "best management practices." Snags, coarse woody debris and visual screening would be retained to provide wildlife security.
Seasonal timing is expected to reduce timber harvest impacts on recreation. DNRC addressed concerns about the proposed A Trail Runs Through It project, an unofficial 18-hole folf course and a groomed Nordic ski trail.
"Recreational opportunities will continue and not be negatively affected in the long term by the proposed project," Manning and Poncin's finding document states.
DNRC reported that one person expressed interest in halting the timber sale by purchasing a "conservation license in lieu of a timber sale," but the person never followed up with an application.
Log hauling on DelRey Road and East Lakeshore Drive will be restricted to time frames when the roads are not snow-covered and to hours when commuter traffic is lightest.