A forest project on the Spotted Bear Ranger District is moving forward after final approval from the Flathead Forest was issued at the end of December.

The project, located just south of the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, aims to improve both the diversity and resilience of forest vegetation, largely in part by increasing the presence of ponderosas pines. Other goals include reducing the negative impacts of wildfires, improving overall forest health and contributing forest products to the local community.

“I think the plan is a good balance of what the various ideas out there around forest management want,” said Gary Blazejewski, the planning team leader for the Forest Service district in Hungry Horse.

Recently, there has been a lack of wildfires in the project area, resulting in dense forest conditions and a shift in species composition from ponderosa pine to Douglas-fir. The project was originally brought to the public in the fall of 2021.

The signed decision approves around 700 acres of commercial timber harvest in addition to 300 acres of other forest treatments.

According to Blazejewski, 500 of those commercial acres will be worked on through a seed tree harvest, a regeneration treatment for ponderosa pines. The other 200 acres will have commercial thinning. There are a total of 30 acres that will have prescribed burns, with additional burning in some mechanical harvest areas to further prepare for the growth of ponderosa pines.

“Our team has put in a lot of time and hard work to get us to this point. I am anxious to see the groundwork get started. The planned treatments will help the forest remain healthy despite the harsh conditions brought on by a changing climate,” said Spotted Bear District Ranger Scott Snelson in a press release.

Timber harvest and fuels management work could start as early as summer of this year after taking just over a year to complete.

More information about the project can be found on Flathead National Forest’s website or by contacting Project Leader, Gary Blazejewski at gary.blazejewski@usda.gov or (406) 387-3827.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or at 758-4459.