Kootenai National Forest

Projects & Plans

Forest Projects

Here you will find some highlighted projects on the Kootenai National Forest.

Little Beaver Hazardous Fuels Project
The Cabinet Ranger District is preparing an environmental analysis for the Little Beaver Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. The analysis will be conducted utilizing the Healthy Forest Restoration Act authority and is expected to be released in April of 2009. This project is located within the Wildland Urban Interface in the Little Beaver Creek Drainage.

Spar and Lake Subunits Assessment Project
The Three Rivers Ranger District is preparing to analyze resource conditions and management opportunities within the Spar and Lake Planning Areas.

Prospect Hill Mineral Exploration / Access Project
The Prospect Hill Mineral Exploration and Access EA analyzes the effects of access to private land, across NFS land, to private property in the Prospect Creek drainage along with re-opening mine adits for mineral exploration.

Rebuild of the Libby (FEC) to Troy Section of Bonneville Power Administration's Libby to Bonners Ferry 115-Kilovolt Transmission Line Project
On July 30, 2008, Forest Supervisor Paul Bradford made a decision to issue a Special Use Permit to Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for implementation of the Proposed Action with the Kootenai River crossing realignment as analyzed and documented in the Rebuild of the Libby (FEC) to Troy Section of BPA’s Libby to Bonners Ferry 115-kilovolt Transmission Line Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).

Young-Dodge Project
The Young Dodge project is located on the Rexford Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest, Montana. The project includes proposals for timber harvest, prescribed burning, construction of a new boat ramp, and road management.

Rocky Pine Hazardous Fuels Reduction
The Three Rivers Ranger District is preparing an environmental analysis for the Rocky Pine Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. The analysis will be conducted utilizing the Healthy Forest Restoration Act authority and is expected to be released in April.

Brush Creek Fire Salvage
The Libby Ranger District on the Kootenai National Forest is proposing to implement a fire salvage project in the Brush Creek area, referred to as the Brush Creek Fire Salvage Project. Proposed forest service projects involve commercial timber harvest, planting and temporary road construction.

Galton Project (includes Ten Lakes, Therriault Lakes, Grave Creek, Dickey Lake, Marston, and Ant Flat)
Fortine Ranger District personnel are progressing with the development of a project entitled Galton, named for the mountain range dominating the eastern view of the Tobacco Valley – The Galton Range.

There are three new documents now posted under the Galton Project area. The first document contains a cover letter from Fortine District Ranger- Betty Holder, pertaining to the pre-scoping comments received on the Galton Project. The second contains the comments received during the Galton Project pre-scoping comment period and the third document addresses some of the pre-scoping comments major themes. The Fortine Ranger District is currently working toward having a proposed action developed in early 2009.

Kootenai River North Fuels Reduction Project
The Libby Ranger District is proposing to reduce fuel loads and the potential for sustained crown fire on National Forest System (NFS) lands located north of the Kootenai River.

Marten Creek Project
The Marten Creek Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is now available. This DEIS analyzes the effects of implementing a variety of resource management activities proposed as part of the Marten Creek Project.

Grizzly Vegetation and Transportation Project
The Grizzly Vegetation and Transportation Project proposes timber harvest, prescribed burning, road maintenance, and transportation management actions to meet Forest Plan standards and guidelines, and to move towards more resilient, fire-adapted vegetation characteristics.

Northeast Yaak Project
This project includes fuels reduction and other vegetation management, wildlife habitat improvement, watershed rehabilitation, and access management changes on the Three Rivers Ranger District.

Montanore Project
The Kootenai National Forest, in conjunction with Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental impacts of the proposed action to permit the construction, operation and reclamation of the Montanore silver/copper mine project and associated power transmission line.

Montanore Mineral Corporation's Libby Adit Plan of Operations 2006
Montanore Minerals Corporation (MMC) is planning to conduct underground evaluation activities utilizing the Libby Adit. The portal to the Libby Adit is located on private lands owned by Mines Management, Inc., but the majority of the underground workings are located within the Kootenai National Forest.

Troy Mine - Geotechnical Assessment Report (pdf | 5.5MB)
The Kootenai National Forest has contracted with Tetra Tech to conduct an independent investigation of subsidence at the Troy Mine.

Pipestone Timber Sale and Restoration Project
On June 2, 2004 , Kootenai National Forest Supervisor Bob Castaneda signed the Record of Decision for the Pipestone project. This project is located on the Libby Ranger District in the Pipe Creek and Bobtail Creek watersheds.

Invasive Plant Management Environmental Impact Statement
The Kootenai National Forest (KNF) is in the process of preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) to analyze reducing and controlling weeds using an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach, including ground and aerial herbicide application.

Snowshoe Mine, Snowshoe Creek, and Big Cherry Millsite Reclamation Project
The Kootenai National Forest, Libby Ranger District is in the planning phase I of a reclamation project at the Big Cherry Mill site, which is located along the Big Cherry Creek, approximately 10 miles south of Libby, Montana.

Rock Creek Project
Contains the Record of Decision (ROD) and the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) regarding the Rock Creek Mine.

Upper Kootenai Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale (EAWS)
Provides a mid-scale assessment and analysis of the ecosystem processes found in the Upper Kootenai Subbasin. The document provides a characterization of the resources and identifies restoration ratings within the Subbasin.

Garver Project
The Garver project was developed from a broad scale assessment of the Northwest Yaak planning subunit (Garver Ecosystem Assessment at the Watershed Scale, January 2002). The district prioritized recommendations made in that assessment to develop the purpose and need for action in formulating this project.

West Troy Project - Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
This project is located on the Three Rivers Ranger District of the Kootenai National Forest within the Callahan planning subunit. A number of specific resource and vegetative conditions not meeting long-term management objectives were identified in the Callahan landscape assessment.

USDA Forest Service - Kootenai National Forest
Last Modified: Thursday, 13 November 2008 at 18:32:54 EST