Hungry Horse-Glacier View District Ranger Rob Davies said to expect the Forest Service to focus on timber sales in the coming years, as there’s a nationwide directive to increase harvest by 25%.

Montana Sen. Steve Daines said in a press release on the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act that timber harvest targets statewide  on Forest and Bureau of Land management lands are 250 million board feet.

Flathead National Forest spokeswoman Kira Powell said later that the Flathead Forest had not yet been assigned a target for fiscal year 2026.

In late June the Forest Service and Gov. Greg Gianforte signed an agreement that targets, among other things, increased timber harvest on about 200,000 acres in Northwest Montana through the Good Neighbor Authority, which allows the state to utilize its staff to bring sales to the market.

That plan is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

Local mills have long said the best way to keep them in business is through a reliable supply of timber. Locally, several timber sales have previously used Good Neighbor Authority, including sales along the Hungry Horse Reservoir and the North Fork.

But meanwhile, some timber sales up the North Fork, which are primarily smaller diameter trees that have grown up since the Red Bench Fire, have gone unsold or have seen deep price cuts.

The Center Mountain Timber sale for example, was initially offered with a minimum bid of $9.32 a ton for relatively small (6-inch breast height diameter lodgepole and 7-inch breast height diameter spruce)  but received no takers.  

The Forest Service then dropped the minimum bid price to $1.69 per ton. The sale, located up Whale Creek, is part of the larger Frozen Moose project.  

It did sell after the price drop, Davies said.

He said larger changes are coming to the Forest Service in the near future. Though he couldn’t talk specifics, other news reports indicate the number of regional offices could be cut drastically.

Nationwide, it currently has 10 regions. Some reports say that number could be cut to three.

Locally, the agency is dealing with cuts of 25 to 30% in staffing. They take turns, for example, manning the desk at the ranger station, he noted.

While the fate of the regional offices has yet to be determined, he said he hoped the district structure remains “relatively untouched.”

The staff the Forest lost in the recent round of cuts was unfortunate, Davies noted, as they were young, energetic employees who provided “boots on the ground.”

The Forest has been doing stewardship projects with outfitters both in the woods and on the the rivers doing maintenance. The North Fork Trails Association has been clearing many trails and outfitters have been helping maintain boat launch sites and cleaning bathrooms.

Bill Walker said the trails association has put in about 200 hours of trail work this year already.

Folks can learn more about the organization on its website at: nftrails.org