Beaver Creek project meeting is Thursday

The Swan Lake Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest will hold a public meeting Jan. 14 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Forest Service Condon Work Center to discuss the Beaver Creek Landscape Restoration Project Environmental Assessment.

The project EA is available for public review and comment through Feb. 1. The Beaver Creek project area is located about nine miles south of Condon bordered by Lindbergh Lake and the Mission Mountains to the west, the Swan River to the north, State Highway 83 to the east and the Lolo National Forest to the south.

Proposed project activities seek to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire within the Wildland Urban Interface, reduce hazardous fuels, improve wildlife and fish habitat, improve forest health and watershed conditions, control the invasion of non-native species and provide wood products for local communities.

The Beaver Creek EA includes no-action Alternative 1 and two action alternatives. The action alternatives evaluate the effects of timber harvesting, tree thinning, prescribed burning, road management and maintenance and the construction of a fish barrier.

A Forest Plan Amendment is also proposed to assign interim management direction to approximately 5,460 acres of acquired Plum Creek Timber Co. land within the project area. Alternatives 2 and 3 propose different management area designations for these acquired lands.

For more information about the Beaver Creek project and how to submit comments, visit the project website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=43968. People with questions about the project or the public meeting should contact Sarah Canepa, the planning team leader, or Sue Tebay, writer/editor, at (406) 837-7500.