Black Gold Salvage Project to start soon

The Gold Hill Fire started on August 11, 2018, and continued into September, burning approximately 6,500 acres. During rehabilitation efforts, a small area of the fire that burned as part of the suppression effort was identified as having salvage potential.

Salvage would occur within stands dominated by lodgepole pine. Some of the burned trees affected by the Gold Hill Fire will remain on the landscape to provide wildlife habitat.

The total volume estimated for removal is approximately 1.1 million board feet of sawlog and 700 milion board feet of non-saw products.

Harvest operations would occur through ground based harvesting systems. Project implementation is expected to begin in the summer of 2019.

The project area is located approximately 15 miles north of Libby, on the Shafer Creek drainage, which is a tributary to Pipe Creek.

The legal description for the project is Township 33N, Range 30W, Sections 19, 20, 30; Township 33N Range 31W, Section 24.

For more information, contact Nate Gassmann, District Ranger at 406-293-7773.