Officials backing clearcut proposal

By Justin Post, of The Montana Standard - 04/06/2007

A proposal to clearcut 115 acres of beetle-killed timber in the Fleecer Mountain range has garnered the support of Butte-Silver Bow officials.

The council of commissioners agreed this week to send a letter to the U.S. Forest Service supporting a salvage sale in two units near the Continental Divide at the head of Price and Powder gulches, approximately 12 miles southwest of Butte.

The project represents a small area in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest where beetles have infested lodgepole pine, said council chairman and District 5 Commissioner Charlie O’Leary.

“It’s important because we’ve got 40,000 acres of timber going to waste and millions of board feet that is going to fall over on the ground and rot,” he said. “Let’s use some of it.” The Forest Service is accepting public comment on the timber sale until April 26 and has determined the project would not severely impact the area, said Jack de Golia, public affairs officer for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

An environmental impact statement is not recommended for the proposed sale, he said. Less than a half-mile of road would be constructed and existing roads would be used to haul logs, de Golia said.

Beetle-killed timber is salvageable for use as lumber for a period after a tree dies and commissioners — in their letter written by O’Leary — are asking the Forest Service to pursue additional salvage sales.

“We encourage more of these small-scale treatments during this devastating insect outbreak,” the letter states in part.

O’Leary said the project would prevent forest fires from spreading in the area, “which is now almost totally affected by the infestation.” The proposed Price Powder salvage sale is in two areas, including a 59-acre clearcut and a nearby 74-acre unit, all but 17 acres of which would also be clearcut.

The proposed sale comes amidst a three-year legal battle over a larger proposal to clearcut 1,100 acres of beetle-killed trees and build 14 miles of new roads on 2,600 acres south of Butte.

Three environmental groups — Native Ecosystems Council, the Ecology Center, and the Alliance for the Wild Rockies — are fighting the Basin Creek Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project citing concerns about wildlife issues linked to the roads and clearcutting.

The environmentalists have appealed the case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Reporter Justin Post may be reached via e-mail at justin.post@lee.net or by telephone, 496-5572.