Forest officials seek comment on logging projects near Troy

A view of current area in the King Kong Project on the Kootenai National Forest near Troy. (Photo courtesy Kootenai National Forest)

by The Western News
| October 29, 2024 7:00 AM

The Three Rivers Ranger District on the Kootenai National Forest is seeking input on two separate proposed actions, the Ruby Snax project and the King Kong Project.

For the Ruby Snax Project proposal, the planning area is located northwest of Troy, off of South Side Road (FS roads 4402 and 4401) in areas surrounding Logan Creek and Star Creek. The project area encompasses approximately 2,353 acres, all of which are on National Forest System lands. There are private timber lands adjacent to the project area and private residential land located along the proposed haul routes.

This proposal addresses forest health and resiliency on the KNF. The proposed action for this project includes a mix of harvest and non-harvest units. More information on proposed actions will be available in the scoping document. The objectives of proposed treatments are:

- Treat for ongoing and/or future drought conditions, insect and disease hazards, and wildfire on the landscape;

- Maintain desired tree species, reduce stand densities and reduce hazardous fuels.

Relative to current conditions, the desired forest would contain more tree species that demonstrate the following traits: less susceptibility to insects and disease mortality, more resilience to fire, more tolerance of drought, relatively long-lived, and more productive.

The project is located within the Kootenai Complex Priority Fire shed as designated in the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. This project would be a part of an on-going effort to increase wildfire resiliency across the landscape and within the Troy community. Please note that all proposed activities are on National Forest System Lands only.

The King Kong Project is located north and east of Troy. The area of analysis is of mixed ownership and intermingled within rural areas of National Forest System lands, private timber lands, state land and residential homes outside of the Troy city limits. All proposed activities are on National Forest System lands only.

Project details for the King Kong Project include:

- The objective for this project is wildlife habitat and forest health improvement. This would be done by reducing natural vegetation build up and promoting heterogeneity through vegetation management.

- The proposal includes thinning, hand piling and prescribed burning. Activities would be used to stimulate forage and promote diversification of wildlife habitat on the landscape. This diversity would further promote resiliency to environmental disturbance within these communities.

- The removal of overstock would improve plant vigor. Additionally, all thinned material would be removed from the landscape by means of pile burning or underburning. The removal of this material would reduce the amount of combustible fuel available which would promote wildfire resiliency.

- This project is partially located within the Wildfire Crisis Strategy – Kootenai Complex and all treatment acres are fully located within the Lincoln County Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Therefore, actions taken to reduce vegetation for wildlife and forest health improvement would also promote wildfire resiliency in the Troy community.

A notice of the proposed action, supporting documentation and maps are available on the project page on the Kootenai National Forest webpage: http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=66646.

Additional information can be obtained from Shawna Latter, Interdisciplinary Leader, at shawna.latter@usda.gov.

Scoping documents were released Oct. 16, 2024. Specific written comments on the proposed project would be most helpful if received by Nov. 15th, 2024, following the release of the scoping documents to the Kootenai homepage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/kootenai/landmanagement/projects.

After comments are considered, a project decision will be made by Sam Martin, District Ranger on the Three Rivers District. The estimated decision for this project will take place in January or February of 2025 (decision date is subject to extension but will not occur earlier than January 2025).

Written comments must be submitted via mail, fax, or in person (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays) to: District Ranger, Three Rivers Ranger District, 12858 US Highway 2, Troy, Montana 59935, FAX: (406) 295-7410.

Electronic comments can be submitted through CARA (Comment Analysis and Response Application) using the following web address: http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=66646. On the right side of the page under the Get Connected tab click on Comment/Object on Project and then submit your comments via the form on this page.

Comments received in response to this solicitation, including the names and addresses of those who commented, will be considered part of the public record for this project and will be available for public inspection.