Spencer timber sale approved

The Montana Land Board last week unanimously approved a timber sale for the Spencer Lake area.

The Spencer Lake South Timber Sale is three miles southwest of Whitefish and calls for harvesting timber on 685 acres. Timber harvest will be done with commercial thinning to provide flexibility for recreation, aesthetics, as well as forest health, according to the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

“We brought this forward a couple years ago and we’ve been discussing this with the local folks,” DNRC director Mary Sexton told the land board at its Dec. 17 meeting. “We’re bringing it forward after an agreement with the interested parties.”

The thin will be completed using tractor logging and done during winter to minimize impacts to recreation in the area. About 6.7 miles of existing roads will be used for the project and no new roads will be constructed.

The DNRC puts the minimum value for the sale at just over $316,000.

Mayor John Muhlfeld supported the timber sale saying it generates revenue for the school trust beneficiaries while providing public recreation opportunities in the Spencer area.

“Over the past several years, the DNRC has worked diligently and cooperatively with a rather diverse group of stakeholders, including the City of Whitefish, to develop a plan that balances the needs for forest product sales, fire hazard reduction, forest health, and recreation,” he said.

Sexton said the Spencer Lake North Timber Sale will come before the land board at a later date.

The Spencer area is a popular destination in the summer for mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding.

The nonprofit conservation group Whitefish Legacy Partners currently is working to designate the recreation asset and trail system on Spencer Mountain. Land use licenses for the Spencer area will come before Whitefish City Council in January.

Last month the land board approved protection for public access to the Whitefish Trail and state lands west of Whitefish. The easement will allow expansion of the trail to connect Murray, Beaver, Woods, Dollar and Little Beaver Lakes. It also retires development rights and allows public access to 1,520 acres of school trust state land.

Whitefish Legacy Partners Director Heidi Van Everen thanked the land board.

“We appreciate all the support we’ve had,” she said. “We look forward to moving forward and continuing the work we have done. We’re going to continue to do more.”