Logging Project Closes Roadway in Sapphire Mountains

A logging operation in the Stevensville Ranger District has shut down a roadway.

"We just want to let the public know that the Stevensville Ranger District has closed Forest Road 428, which is up in the Sapphire Mountains and is part of that three saddle stewardship project that has been going on for several months," said  Bitterroot National Forest Public Affairs Officer Todd McKay. The reason that the road is closed is because some logging crews have some heavy equipment actually parked on the road."

McKay says this logging operation is focused on thinning.

"The project is a pretty substantial one for our forest, it's about 6 million board feet of timber," McKay said. "A lot of that area, as people probably know, has been hit by pine beetle mortality, so there are a lot of dead tees that they are cutting up there. The road will probably be closed until the end of April."

The thinning project is a combination of both commercial and non-commercial interests.