Log salvaging project moves forward

The Montana Land Board approved a plan by North Shore Development, LLC, in September to salvage logs that sunk during logging operations in the north part of Flathead Lake.

The board granted a land-use license to the company for the project at its Sept. 20 meeting in line with a settlement agreement from October 2008 that determined that North Shore is the owner of submerged logs marked with an “N” brand. As part of that settlement, the board agreed that, subject to required permits and regulations, it would issue the license for a 10-year period, and that it could be conditionally renewed for another 10 years.

A comment period on the environmental assessment ran this summer. That comment period was run conjointly for both the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, both of which had to issue permits. In addition to the land-use license, the project also needs to be granted a short-term water quality standard for turbidity. A joint decision and recommendation was given Sept. 10 by the directors of both departments in support of allowing the project to go forward.

Project manager John Cancroft with Northwest Management, Inc., said that DEQ permit is the last piece the project is waiting on to get started. That’s hinging on the finalization of a more detailed water quality monitoring plan than was given in the environmental assessment to submit before the permit can be issued.

“We’re hoping in the next few weeks to finalize it,” he said. “My motto is slow and professional.”

According to the summary provided to the land board, concerns expressed during the comment period focused on impacts to water quality from both sediment disturbance and contaminants, recreational use conflicts and the impact to fish habitat and aquatic species.

DNRC reported that the concerns have been mitigated by the design of the project and the proposed “real-time” turbidity monitoring during the initial salvage operations.

The project area extends north of Point Caroline, between Lakeside and Somers, on the West Shore and north of Long Beach, between Woods Bay and Bigfork, on the East Shore.

The company will be salvaging both the “N” marked logs and unmarked logs that belong to DNRC as the owners of the Lake bed. North Shore will pay the state $21,000 annually as well as a percentage of the revenue from the unmarked logs that are salvaged. A marketing plan for the logs is also one of the ongoing projects Cancroft is working on.

The project, according to the assessment, involves removing 800 logs per month and 5,600 logs per operating season. The season would extend from April through November, but during the summer months, North Shore has said it will adopt a “flexible” schedule to minimize interference with recreation. Work will be done in one five-acre section at a time. As soon as that permit is acquired, salvaging can begin. That could be as early as mid-October, Cancroft said.