Summer recreationists may encounter trail closures on Big Mountain this year as Forest Service workers clear vegetation around several chair lifts.

About 200 acres within Whitefish Mountain Resort are slated for thinning and fuels reduction projects this summer, according to a proposed action plan released Friday. Tree stands beneath Chairs 1, 2 and 4 on the front side of Big Mountain will be thinned as part of the project, with the goal of reducing overall forest fuel loads and removing hazard trees that increase the risk of catastrophic wildfire. 

“Summer is months away, but it’s never too early to plan for the wildfire season. This project is imperative to protect resort infrastructure and ensure the continued safe operations of our chairlifts” Whitefish Mountain Resort President Nick Polumbus said in a Feb. 20 statement. “The project will come with a few temporary, isolated impacts to some bike trails, but we are planning for this well in advance to provide reroutes and maintain a top-notch summer experience on the mountain.” 

Work could begin as early as May and continue through the summer. 

Tree clearing is planned for 21 zones, with large segments in the Wood Lot glades between Chair 2 and the Big Ravine ski slope, below Good Medicine along Chair 1 and west of the Swift Creek run down to T-Bar 2. 

The Danny On hiking trail passes through seven of the zones just above the Russ's Street ski traverse.

The project is expected to qualify for categorical exclusion under both a 2018 amendment to the Healthy Forest Restoration Act and a March 2025 executive order aimed at expanding American timber production. Both directives exempt agencies from publishing environmental impact statements for forestry projects that fall within areas considered to be at high risk for wildfire danger. 

Comments on the proposed plan may be submitted via email to [email protected] through March 6. Emails should include “Big Mountain Fuels Project” in the subject line. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].

    Big Mountain Fuels Reduction Project.