Sorted by date Results 1 - 11 of 11
SCAPEGOAT WILDERNESS – The Lolo National Forest is seeking comments on the North Fork Blackfoot River Native Fish Restoration Project which is located in the Scapegoat Wilderness on the Seeley Lake Ranger District on the Lolo National Forest, and the Lincoln Ranger District on the Helena – Lewis and Clark National Forest, in Powell and Lewis and Clark counties. The project would authorize Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) to implement fish management and stocking actions within the wilderness that would establish a secure population of nat...
Less than three years have passed since the fires of 2017 and the Lolo National Forest is still making significant steps toward recovery in areas impacted by severe wildfire. Working in close partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF), a national nonprofit partner of the U.S. Forest Service, crews have completed planting of over 240,000 Ponderosa Pine and Western Larch seedlings across the Missoula, Seeley Lake, Superior and Plains-Thompson Falls Ranger Districts located in Missoula, Mineral and Sanders counties. Planting occured...
Electric bicycles (e-bikes) have grown in popularity for both recreational use and hunting on public lands and are currently welcome on more than 52,000 miles of roads and 7,700 miles of trails throughout the Northern Region’s nine National Forests and Dakota Prairie Grasslands where motorized vehicle travel is authorized. The USDA Forest Service considers e-bikes as motorized vehicles and therefore does not allow their use on non-motorized National Forest System (NFS) roads and trails. According to the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule (...
SEELEY LAKE – The Lolo National Forest is asking for public feedback on a proposal to harvest trees impacted by insect infestation and disease within the 2017 Liberty Fire burned area on the Seeley Lake Ranger District. This effort has been collaboratively developed with the Southwest Crown Collaborative and the Blackfoot Challenge. The Liberty Fire was ignited by lightning on July 15, 2017 and burned through the summer and into early fall, impacting approximately 28,694 acres over multiple jurisdictions, 9,452 acres of which are National Fores...
SEELEY LAKE – Trail crews spent much of last week conducting repair work on Monture Trail #27, located on the Seeley Lake Ranger District, to address a trail washout caused by storms two weeks ago. Monture Trail is a popular route into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and is frequently used by hunters with stock. The crews were successful in moving rock and conducting some drilling to regrade the trail tread and make it passable to stock animals. The Forest Service encourages anyone heading into t...
SEELEY LAKE – Heavy rains at the beginning of the week resulted in increased runoff and a trail washout in the Monture Drainage on the Seeley Lake Ranger District. Monture Trail #27 is currently impassable to stock at approximately 4.3 miles up the trail at the Yellowjacket drainage due to increased flows and debris movement caused by recent storms. It is recommended that day-riders use the flat trail section before Bill Creek as a turn-around point prior to reaching the blind corner and Y...
SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Ranger District is planning to conduct prescribed burning and pile burning this fall to help restore habitat and better protect nearby communities from future wildfires by reducing hazardous fuels. Frequent, low-intensity fire is essential to restore National Forest lands for the communities who depend on them. Prescribed fires improve habitat conditions for wildlife by promoting nutrient recycling of fire-adapted vegetation and growth of new forage for wildlife bro...
SEELEY LAKE - The Lolo National Forest is replacing the Swamp Creek stream crossing at milepost 3.7 on the Cottonwood Lakes Road (FS Road #477) starting Aug. 19. The road will be closed on either side of the project (between Blind Canyon Road #4378 and Swamp Creek Road #4379) for up to three weeks. The old culvert will be replaced with a new culvert that will pass all storm and runoff flows and will allow for fish and aquatic organisms to cross under the road. Forest users will still be able to...
MISSOULA - The Missoula County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) is seeking new members to share in the management of local National Forest lands. Volunteer RAC committee members serve an important role in recommending how funds received by counties under the Secure Rural Schools Act will be spent in the county on projects that are on, or will benefit, nearby National Forest lands. By law, RACs must be comprised of 15 members from Montana with balanced and broad representation of the public. RAC member duties and commitments: • Review and m...
MISSOULA – Carolyn Upton has been named Forest Supervisor for the Lolo National Forest and is expected to begin work in Missoula at the end of March. Upton is currently the deputy Forest Supervisor on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest and Thunder Basin National Grasslands in Colorado. “I am very excited to announce Carolyn Upton as the new Forest Supervisor for the Lolo National Forest,” said Regional Forester Leanne Marten. “Carolyn has a wealth of experience and a strong passion for working collaboratively with community members...
MISSOULA – Membership recruiting is underway for the Missoula County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) and Forest Service officials are soliciting applications from individuals interested in serving in one of the available 15 positions on the RAC. The RAC positions are unpaid but members provide a valuable service by making recommendations on projects that benefit Forest Service land within Missoula County. The membership terms for the original membership have expired and appointments beyond eight years (two, four year terms) are not c...
