Forest seeks comments on Pilgrim Creek Timber Sale Project

The U.S. Forest Service is publishing a supplemental environmental impact statement in the Federal Register for the Pilgrim Creek Timber Sale, initiating a 45-day public comment period. 

The project, located on the Kootenai National Forest, will implement timber harvest, prescribed burning and planting to maintain and increase forest health. 

The project includes timber harvest on about 219 acres and prescribed fire on over 4,500 acres of Forest Service managed lands near Noxon, Montana, in the Pilgrim Creek watershed.

After project implementation, the forest will complete the necessary post-harvest planting to support species diversity as well as road storage maintenance. 

The project supports President Trump’s Executive Order 14225 on Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins’ direction for the Forest Service to ramp up active forest management to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk and support rural prosperity. 

It is designed to increase forest resilience to insects, disease and disturbance by creating a better mix of young and old trees and by improving growing conditions and big game forage. The project also supports the local economy through commercial timber harvest. 

The analysis updates assumptions about the effectiveness of barriers on closed roads based on the reported monitoring data. The document also incorporates consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  

The official notification for comment is expected to appear in the Federal Register on or near April 18, 2026. Electronic comments may be submitted through the project website or in writing via mail, or in person (Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays) to: District Ranger, Cabinet Ranger District, 2693 Montana Highway 200, Trout Creek, Montana 59874. The subject line must contain the name of the project for which you are submitting comments.  

For more information or to request a copy of the documents, please contact Lisa Osborn, ([email protected]) Kootenai Forest Environmental Coordinator or visit the project website. 

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