Flathead National Forest issued final approval last week for thousands of acres of forestry operations in the Swan Lake and Tally Lake ranger districts, with the first cuts anticipated to occur this fall.

A finding of no extraordinary circumstances form dated Aug. 27 clears the way for the salvage of 512 acres of timber damaged during a December windstorm, including 454 acres along Reid Divide and 58 acres near Grouse Mountain.  

Officials signed off Aug. 28 on another 3,849 acres of commercial treatments and 2,302 acres of noncommercial treatments south of Condon, with an anticipated start date in early 2027.  

Both the Rad Reid Blowdown Salvage Project and the Rumbling Owl Fuels Reduction Project qualified for an emergency action determination introduced by the Trump administration in April 2025. The designation exempts the projects from several of the review processes mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act, including a pre-decision objection period. 

The agency also cited the emergency action determination in its request for expedited, informal consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the projects' potential impacts to endangered and threatened species.  

Internal reviews by Forest Service biologists found that both projects were likely to adversely affect grizzly bears and that the Rumbling Owls Fuels Reduction Project was likely to adversely affect Canada lynx. Both species are considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Project documents described the potential impacts from the projects as minor and not significant. 

FOREST OFFICIALS also reaffirmed the decision notice on Aug. 28 for the 9,466-acre Round Star Project west of Whitefish following the completion of court-mandated revisions to the accompanying environmental assessment. 

Work on the project, which includes 6,600 acres of commercial treatments, 2,866 acres of noncommercial treatments and 20 miles of new road construction, kicked off in the spring of 2024.  

Several environmental groups promptly filed suit, alleging the project violated federal protections for grizzly bears and Canada lynx. A federal magistrate judge ultimately remanded the project back to the Forest Service for further review, and Flathead National Forest released an updated environmental assessment in June 2026. 

After reviewing public comments on the revised assessment, District Ranger William Mulholland wrote that "no changes to the existing Round Star Project Decision (from) April 2024 are warranted. The original decision remains valid." 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 406-758-4433 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.