Buckhorn Forest Project Proposed SE of Hamilton

The Bitterroot National Forest is partnering with the Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC) on the proposed Buckhorn Good Neighbor Authority forest project in Skalkaho area southeast of Hamilton. The project includes 1,300 acres of forest service land and 400 acres of DNRC land in the area of Coffee, Tenderfoot and Fullerton Gulches along Gird Point Road 714. Tod McKay of the Bitterroot National Forest said the overstocked area would use timber harvest, non-commercial thinning and prescribed fire to reduce hazardous fuels, improve forest health and provide forest products. The DNRC project would use National Forest roads to transport logs. Any temporary roads would be "decommissioned" after the project. McKay said in a news release that the current conditions of the area include high tree density and pockets of dead and dying trees due to insects and disease. The Bitterroot Community Wildfire Protection Plan has called the area a "high Priority" project in the Wildland-Urban Interface.

The public has until December 3 to comment on the plan. You can learn more and see maps at the Bitterroot National Forest project page. This is the second Good Neighbor Authority project between the Bitterroot National Forest and DNRC. The Threemile Wildlife Management GNA northeast of Stevensville included Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The project is on the Darby Ranger District.