The photos below were taken January 29, 2005 during a Native
Forest Network monitoring trip to the Guide Creek area within
the Middle East Fork project. All photos by Native Forest
Network.
If you would like more information about this project, please
contact the Native Forest Network at 406.542.7343 or nfn@wildrockies.org.
Monitoring trips are planned throughout the winter and spring.
We hope you will join us!
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| Despite the mild late-January weather
we need to "chain-up" the Native Forest Network
Action Van as we head into the proposed Middle East Fork
"Hazardous Fuel Reduction" project – Montana's
first project proposed under the Healthy Forests Restoration
Act. |
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Today's monitoring trip will take us up Guide Creek
where we'll be hiking into the logging units colored green
on this map. The green units are proposed for clearcut
"regeneration" logging while the blue units
are "commercial thinning" units and the orange
units are "salvage" units. Keep in mind this
is just a very small portion of the entire Middle East
Fork project area. Note how heavily logged and roaded
the areas around the proposed logging units are. |
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| The monitoring team heads up the logging
road along Guide Creek. If this project goes forward,
this road will see heavy log-truck traffic. One concern
we have is erosion and sediments from the log-trucks going
right into Guide Creek, which runs right along the road. |
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The going is slow through the snow
as we pass a small portion of a former clearcut that is
directly adjacent to units 5a and 7 of this project that
the Forest Service plans for clearcut "regeneration"
logging. |
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| NFN's Cameron Naficy poses in an old
logging unit. In the background is unit 5a, in which the
Forest Service has planned a clearcut "regeneration"
harvest. |
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After climbing out of the clearcuts we reach an
amazing ridge within unit 7 with huge Douglas-fir trees
slated for logging. The tree on the left measures 47 inches
in diameter – a massive tree for this part of the
country! |
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| Annie Diephuis measures the four-foot
diameter Douglas-fir that the Forest Service has slated
for logging as part of this "healthy forest"
project. |
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The Forest Service's rationale for cutting these
old-growth Douglas-fir is because the trees are either
infested with bark beetles or "at imminent risk of
spread of the beetle epidemic." Bark beetles are
a native species that play an important role in maintaining
the overall health of these forests. Cutting down these
legacy Douglas-fir trees is not fuel reduction or forest
restoration – it would actually rob the forest of
a critical component of its recovery and rebirth. |
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| More big Douglas-fir trees within unit
7 slated for clearcut "regeneration" logging.
These forests with bark beetle activity were alive with
big-game activity. On this monitoring trip we encountered
sign of elk, bighorn sheep, mule and whitetail deer and
moose. |
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It seemed everywhere we went within
unit 7 we found big Doug-firs...and everywhere we found
big Doug-firs infested with bark beetles we heard and
saw numerous species of woodpeckers including giant pileated
woodpeckers. |
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| Matthew Koehler with the Native Forest
Network measures a couple of big Doug-firs within unit
7. Notice the big Doug-fir on the left that recently fell
to the forest floor. These large, downed trees provide
important habitat for small critters such as squirrels
and rabbits, in addition to returning important nutrients
to the soil as they decompose over time. These downed
trees also store a tremendous amount of water, acting
almost like a sponge. Finally, notice the "tip-up"
mound that the roots of the tree created when it fell.
These "tip-up" mounds are very important as
they provide micro-sites where snow, water and seeds can
often collect. |
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More Douglas-fir trees within unit
7 that will be cut down if this "Healthy Forests"
project goes forward. Note how open this part of the forest
already is. Do you think these legecy Doug-firs should
be cut down for "fuel reduction" or "restoration?" |
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| University
of Montana forestry graduate student David Mildrexler
talks about all the woodpecker activity we documented
within the proposed clearcut "regeneration"
logging units as NFN's Ted Fellman works the video camera.
Woodpeckers can eat up to 10,000 beetles a year, helping
to naturally control localized beetle outbreaks. Clearcut
"regeneration" logging unit 39 is in the background. |
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Jeanette Russell
with the National Forest Protection Alliance takes in
the view of unit 39 (background) which the Forest Service
plans to cut down via a "regeneration" harvest.
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| From
a vista, Cameron looks into the proposed logging units
in the Kerlee and Mink Creek drainages just south of
the East Fork of the Bitterroot River. Note the large
clearcut in the center of the photo. |
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The
monitoring team takes a break to enjoy the view. If
you want to join us on a monitoring trip, contact the
Native Forest Network at 406.542.7343 or nfn@wildrockies.org |
