Community Briefs

Garden Club Gathering

POTOMAC – The Garden Club will meet Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Potomac Community Center. Those attending are encouraged to bring a garden treat to share.

Missoula BLM Plans Fall Prescribed Burns

OVANDO – Smoke may be visible periodically during the next two months in the mountains east of Missoula as the Bureau of Land Management’s Missoula Field Office conducts three controlled burns.

Two burns are located in the Blackfoot Valley, about five miles southwest of Clearwater Junction. The other burn is located three miles north and west of Maxville, in the Flint Creek Watershed.

The burns may take up to two weeks to complete and will take place when weather and fuel conditions are favorable. They could occur anytime over the next two months.

The controlled burns will reduce the amount of vegetation and hazardous fuels in the area. Fire specialists are attempting to restore the historic vegetative conditions characterized by large-diameter Douglas fir, ponderosa pine and western larch with intermittent openings of shrubs, forbs and bunch grasses. By removing the small, “ladder fuels” and down woody debris, the impact of large wildfires is also reduced.

Firefighters will light the controlled burns by ground ignition using drip torches and by aerial ignition using helicopters outfitted with aerial ignition devices. Firefighters from the BLM, U.S. Forest Service and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation will be involved in the projects.

For more information about the controlled burns, please contact BLM Fire Management Specialist Steve Hancock at the Missoula Field Office at 406- 329-3869.

Bridge Replacement Requires Partial Road Closure

SWAN VALLEY - Equipment will be mobilizing in preparation for the replacement of the Jim Creek Bridge, located at milepost 3.15 on Forest System Road 888 (Peck Lake Road).

 The road will be closed for three weeks, near the Jim Creek Bridge replacement section of road, from Tuesday, Aug. 23 to Saturday, Sept. 10, in order to remove the old bridge and construct the new bridge. Road closure signs will be posted on Road 888 (Peck Lake Road), at the intersections of Road 966 (Piper Creek) and Road 903 (Cold Lakes). Work on the Jim Creek Bridge will occur concurrently with gravel resurfacing on the same road.

 For updated information on temporary road restrictions and access on the Flathead National Forest, please contact the respective ranger district:  Spotted Bear Ranger District: 406-758-5376; Hungry Horse/Glacier View Ranger District: 406-387-3800; Tally Lake Ranger District: 406-758-5204; Swan Lake Ranger District: 406-837-7500

Kindergarten Roundup, Sept. 1 at Seeley Lake Elementary

SEELEY LAKE - Seeley Lake Elementary (SLE) School kindergarteners and a family member are invited to come to school and try part-of-a-day in class Thursday, Sept. 1 from 12-1:15 p.m. This is a great opportunity to find out a little more about kindergarten before school starts Sept. 6.

Students will do a variety of activities, including spending time in the classroom, go to gym, do an art project, find their new locker and store school supplies.

Please RSVP with Suzie, the SLE secretary, at 677-2265.

Seeley Lake Library News

The Summer Reading Program concluded Wednesday, Aug. 17. Of the more than 50 participants, 19 completed an entire reading sheet to have their names entered into the drawing for grand prizes. Klayton Kovatch won the tent, Bethany Hoag won the fishing pole, Noah Snodgrass won the backpack, Owen Hoag won the fleece blanket and Caden Snodgrass won the t-shirt. Thanks to all who participated.

The Seeley Lake Library is a branch of Missoula Public Library located at Seeley-Swan High School. The library is open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Story Time takes place Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Children of all ages are welcome.

Potomac Library News

POTOMAC - This month several new books have been added to the library.

• “The Missing Dough” by Chris Cavender - This is a pizza lover’s mystery.

• “All Dressed in White” by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke - Laurie Moran investigates the chilling case of a missing bride.

• “Force of Nature” by C. J. Box. A Joe Pickett Novel - C. J. Box has written many remarkable books-but nothing will prepare you for the extraordinary drama of Force of Nature.

• “Ever After” by Jude Deveraux - A Nantucket Brides Novel.

• “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah. “In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.”

All of these adult books are in the new section of the library and can now be checked out for one month.

School starts Aug. 29. The library will be open every Wed. from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Checked out books from the Missoula Public Library can be returned by the library. Books can also be ordered online from the library and picked up in Potomac.

Flathead National Forest Plan Revision, Plan Amendments, and Draft Environmental Impact Statement Open House

KALISPELL - The public is invited to attend an open house on the Flathead National Forest draft forest plan, plan amendments and draft environmental impact statement. It will be held Thursday, Sept. 8 from 4:30-7 p.m. at the Flathead National Forest Supervisors Office, 650 Wolfpack Way, Kalispell, Mont.

The purpose of the draft forest plan is to provide for long-term sustainability of ecosystems and desired ecosystem services. The draft forest plan describes the Forest’s distinctive roles and contributions within the broader landscape and details forest-wide, management area and geographic area desired conditions, objectives, standards and guidelines. The revised forest plan identifies suitable uses of National Forest System lands and estimates of the planned timber sale quantity for the Forest.

The draft revised plan identifies priority watersheds for restoration and includes the evaluation of recommended wilderness areas and eligible wild and scenic rivers. The purpose and need for the four forest amendments for the Helena, Lewis and Clark, Kootenai, and Lolo National Forests, along with the revised forest plan for the Flathead National Forest, is to ensure the adequacy of regulatory mechanisms regarding habitat protection across the national forests in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in support of the de-listing of the grizzly bear.

During the open house the planning team will be available to answer any questions you may have. There will not be a formal presentation. The general public can stop in at any time during the open house.

Documents and maps are available on-line, as well as information about how to comment, at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/flathead/fpr. The comment period ends Oct. 3.

Heavy Equipment Working Between Porcupine Creek & Cold Creek Roads

KALISPELL - During August and September a gravel crushing and aggregate laydown project will be occurring off of Highway 83 in the Swan Valley between Porcupine Creek Road #10229 and Cold Creek Road #903. The purpose of the project is to improve road drainage, provide a maintainable road surface and improve user comfort on roads open to public traffic.

When the project is occurring, the public is advised to slow down and watch for advance warning signs, construction equipment and heavy truck traffic working on the following roads:

• Gravel crushing operation will occur at the existing Porcupine Pit located approximately 0.4 miles off of Highway 83 and Road #10229.

• Gravel hauling and laydown will occur on the first two miles of Lion Creek Road #9769; Piper Creek Road #966 from Highway 83 to the Piper Creek Trailhead; the entire length of Peck Lake Road #888 from Piper Creek Road to Cold Creek Road; Cold Creek Road #903 from Highway 83 to its intersection with Jim Lakes Road #9568 and Jim Lakes Road #9568 from its beginning to its intersection with Cold Lakes Trailhead Road #9599.

 For updated information on temporary road restrictions, campgrounds and access on the Flathead National Forest, please contact the Swan Lake Ranger District, 406-837-7500.