Thinning project on reservoir gets the OK

The Forest Service has approved a timber fuels reduction project near private residences along the southwest shore of the Hungry Horse Reservoir. Hungry Horse/Glacier View district ranger Robert Davies signed the notice of decision last week.

The Heinrude Fuels Reduction Project calls for mechanical fuels reduction work on 70 acres near the home sites and sapling thinning on about 550 acres near 19 privately owned residences near Heinrude Creek.

The purpose of the project is to reduce the risk of severe or intense wildfire, improve the Forest Service’s ability for initial attack, provide a safer environment for firefighters and the public, and protect private property and natural resources.

Three Forest Service road culverts on Heinrude Creek with a high risk of failure will be replaced or re-sized. The larger culverts will be sized to allow for 100-year flood events and fish passage. Culvert work and thinning could begin this summer.

Scoping on the Heinrude Project began in April 2013. Davies determined that an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement was not necessary for this project, and his decision is not subject to administrative appeal.

For more information, visit online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/projects and click on “Heinrude Fuels Reduction Project.”