Last week, the Flathead National Forest released a draft environmental assessment for a large forest management project near Bigfork that proposes a range of actions to provide recreation, timber management and fuels reduction in the area.

Known as Bug Creek, the project proposes adding approximately 17 new or newly designated non-motorized trail miles southeast of Bigfork. The Forest also would change the trail designation for Estes Lake Trail to allow non-motorized use only in order to “align with that trail’s use beyond Forest Service system lands.” In its place, one proposed alternative would create a motorized loop between Crane Mountain Road and Road #9714 to the south end of Swan Lake.

According to the 228-page assessment, “the need for specified motorized and additional non-motorized opportunities is due to increasing visitor use in the Bigfork, Swan Lake and Crane Mountain areas.” The document states there has been a 24% bump in visitor usage across the forest area from 2010 to 2015 and adds that visitors and residents in the Bigfork and Ferndale areas, in particular, have expressed interest in a new non-motorized system in recent years.

The Forest also would implement approximately 4,000 to 4,600 acres of commercial and non-commercial vegetation treatments. This undertaking, according to the assessment, “would reduce fuels close to communities in the wildland-urban interface, provide wood products for the local economy, and address insect and disease and other forest health concerns.” All told, the project area analyzed for timber harvest and other vegetarian treatments is approximately 31,000 acres.

The proposed treatments would require between 11 and 13 miles of road to be constructed. The routes later would be returned to an “impassable state” after the project is completed. The Forest would construct approximately 5 miles of temporary road that would be rehabilitated and “returned to a forest condition” after the project concludes.

The project would also require the agency to temporarily close the last four miles of Crane Mountain Road, otherwise known as Forest Service Road #498, to motorized vehicle access for about five years while the project unfolds. During that time, that portion of the road would only be available for administrative use.

The assessment states this is a “mitigation measure to allow for long-term needed fuels management while offsetting potential short-term effects to grizzly bears.” However, non-motorized vehicle access along Crane Mountain Road would continue during the project time-period.

“I am incredibly pleased to see this project move forward,” Flathead National Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele said in a prepared statement. “This area is a high priority for fuels reductions to make our communities more resilient to wildfire.”

The public provided early input on the project during a scoping period in 2018. According to a press release on the project, the planning team took that feedback and incorporated more options into the proposed actions, including a broader range of recreation opportunities, invasive species treatments, and timber harvest proposals.

On Nov. 13, the project entered a 30-day comment period. Concurrent with the 30-day comment period, the Forest has also opened a 60-day public review on regeneration harvest openings that would exceed maximum size limits established by the Flathead National Forest Land Management Plan.

The proposed openings are primarily within the wildland urban interface and are needed to reduce fuels in order to create conditions that are resilient to disturbances, and to treat insect and disease issues. In addition to public review, exceeding the established size limits also requires the United States Forest Service Region 1 review and approval.

The Big Creek draft environmental assessment and other documents can be found on the Flathead National Forest website under the Land Resources and Management tab. Comments can be submitted to comments-northern-flathead-swan-lake@usda.gov.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com