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Bear Canyon Proposed Timber Sale Project
Welcome to the Bear Canyon Proposed Timber Sale Project Webpage!
Updated August 2011
The ID Team and project Decision Maker have finished and posted the Decision Notice and Final Environmental Assessment for the Bear Canyon Timber Sale Project. Thanks to all of you who sent in comments!
The Bear Canyon Timber Sale will be presented before the Land Board on Monday, August 15th in Helena.
To view a single title, please click the individual title, or to view the entire list, click Expand All | Contract All.
- How can I be involved and stay informed?
- Submit Comments During Project Scoping
- We held the initial scoping period in June of 2010 and then redefined the project and continued to welcome comments. A public meeting was held in October 2010. Thank you to those who attended the meeting and contributed comments. We are currently working on the Draft Environmental Analysis, and will again be seeking comments when it is released Spring/Summer 2011.
- Review the Draft Environmental Analysis
- The specialists on our ID Team are working to conduct analyses on the potential effects to various resources in the proposed project area including viewshed, recreation, wildlife, water, vegetation, air, transportation, and economics. After we finish the analysis, we will distribute the draft environmental analysis to the public for a 30-day review period. During this time, we will be asking interested individuals to read and comment on our analyses to make sure that we have adequately addressed issues and concerns raised during scoping and that we have analyzed those issues in enough detail to understand the potential effects to the various resources listed above.
- Attend Public Meetings
- A public meeting will be scheduled after the Draft Environmental Analysis is released in Spring/Summer 2011.
- What are State trust lands?
- Upon ratification of the Montana State Constitution in 1889, the U.S. Congress granted certain lands to the State of Montana for support of common schools and other public institutions. To this day, these lands are held in trust for the specific trust beneficiaries to which they were assigned and ultimately for the people of the State of Montana (1972 Montana Constitution Article X, Section 11). The Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) and the DNRC TLMD are required by law to manage these State trust lands to produce reasonable and legitimate return for the trust beneficiary institutions while considering environmental factors and protecting the future income-generating capacity of the land (1972 Montana Constitution, Article X, Section 11; Montana Code Annotated [MCA] 77-1-202).
- The Land Board consists of Montana's top elected officials:
- Brian Schweitzer, Governor
- Steve Bullock, Attorney General
- Denise Juneau, Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Monica Lindeen, State Auditor
- Linda McCulloch, Secretary of State
- State trust lands within the Bear Canyon area are currently held in trust for the benefit of the State Normal School, State Industrial School and Public Buildings.
- Upon ratification of the Montana State Constitution in 1889, the U.S. Congress granted certain lands to the State of Montana for support of common schools and other public institutions. To this day, these lands are held in trust for the specific trust beneficiaries to which they were assigned and ultimately for the people of the State of Montana (1972 Montana Constitution Article X, Section 11). The Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) and the DNRC TLMD are required by law to manage these State trust lands to produce reasonable and legitimate return for the trust beneficiary institutions while considering environmental factors and protecting the future income-generating capacity of the land (1972 Montana Constitution, Article X, Section 11; Montana Code Annotated [MCA] 77-1-202).
- Why is DNRC proposing to harvest timber in the Bear Canyon Area?
- Part of DNRC’s mission is to manage the State forest resource for its health and long term sustainability and to protect and enhance the future income-generating capacity of the trust land.
- Currently a majority of the lodgepole pine trees within the Bear Canyon area are experiencing or are facing mortality due to the serious infestation of Mountain Pine Beetle. Harvest treatments would serve to establish regeneration and would promote the desired diversity and future health of the stands. The Douglas-fir stands are confronted with health and vigor issues due to the overstocked conditions and would benefit from selective harvesting practices.
- What are the proposed project objectives?
- DNRC TLMD is proposing the following objectives for this proposed project:
- Manage the forest resource to promote improved health, productivity, and diversity.
- Capture the value of dead, dying, and decadent lodgepole pine.
- Generate revenue for the trust beneficiaries.
- Minimize fire and safety risks imposed by these conditions.
- Enhance and expand the existing transportation system to provide improved access for long-term future management of the area and fire suppression needs.
- What activities would be associated with the proposed project?
- The proposed project would incorporate group selection, selection and clearcut harvest methods utilizing conventional/tractor harvest systems. Overstocked stands of Douglas-fir, spruce, and subalpine fir would have the basal area reduced by up to 60%. All merchantable lodgepole pine would be salvaged.
- Access to the proposed harvest units would require the construction of up to 6.9 miles of new road all of which would be closed with slash and debris following harvest activities.
- Where specifically would activities take place and when?
- DNRC TLMD is conducting analysis for harvest activities in an area encompassing up to 750 acres within sections 1, 2, 3, and 11 of Township 3 South, Range 6 East and sections 34 and 35 of Township 2 South, Range 6 East. See Map of Project Area.
- What is the difference between the project area and the area that will be harvested?
- The project area is those sections in which DNRC plans to conduct forest management activities including road construction and reconstruction. The area DNRC proposes to harvest will be a subset of timber stands within the project area; thus, much smaller in size. While the project area is 3,500 acres in size, we anticipate the harvest area to be approximately 750 acres.
- What is the State Forest Land Management Plan?
- The State Forest Land Management Plan (SFLMP) is the plan under which DNRC manages forested state trust lands. DNRC developed the SFLMP in 1996 to provide field personnel with consistent policy and direction for the management of forested state trust lands. The SFLMP provides the philosophical basis, technical rationale, and direction for DNRC’s forest management program. The SFLMP is premised on the philosophy that the best way to produce long-term income for the trust is to manage intensively for healthy and biologically diverse forests. In the foreseeable future, timber management will continue to be the primary source of revenue and primary tool for achieving biodiversity objectives on forested state trust lands.
- What are the Forest Management Rules?
- The DNRC Forest Management Rules (ARM 36.11.401 through 456) are the specific legal resource management standards and measures under which DNRC implements the SFLMP and subsequently its forest management program. The Rules were adopted in March 2003 and provide the legal framework for DNRC project-level decisions and provide field personnel with consistent policy and direction for managing forested state trust lands. All forest management projects administered by DNRC on forested state trust lands must comply with the Forest Management Rules.
- What is the annual sustainable yield?
- The annual sustainable yield (ASY) refers to one of DNRC’s fundamental management tools for conducting activities on forested state trust land. The ASY is defined by statute as: "….the quantity of timber that can be harvested from forested state lands each year in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to the laws pertaining to wildlife, recreation and maintenance of watersheds, and in compliance with water quality standards that protect fisheries and aquatic life and that are adopted under the provisions of Title 75, chapter 5, taking into account the ability of state forests to generate replacement tree growth" (77-5-221, MCA). DNRC is required by statute (77-5-221 – 223, MCA) to recalculate the ASY of forested state trust lands at least every 10 years. Recalculating this often helps DNRC account for updated inventory data and volume lost to large scale fires, insect and disease outbreaks, and other factors.
- The ASY calculation determines the amount of timber that can be harvested annually on a sustainable basis from state trust lands. Important ecological commitments from the SFLMP and Rules related to biodiversity, forest health, threatened and endangered species, riparian buffers, old growth, and desired species mix and covertypes are incorporated into the ASY calculation. In 2004, the state-wide ASY was calculated to be 53.2 MMbf of timber.
- Why is DNRC harvesting timber in a down market?
- DNRC is harvesting timber to manage for desired future conditions, to address insect and disease problems, to meet the annual sustainable yield (ASY), and to generate revenue for the trust beneficiaries as required by the law (Enabling Act of 1889 and 1972 Montana Constitution). While the current market conditions are not ideal, DNRC is still responsible for meeting these program requirements.
- As outlined in statute, the agency is responsible for meeting the ASY and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Failure to meet our ASY would have both economic and long-term ecological impacts. The ecological impacts would include increased mortality due to insect and disease, increased fuel build-up and fire risk, undesirable shifts in species composition and age structures, and impacts to watersheds.
- Providing a consistent wood supply from forested state trust lands also supports the local economy. This is especially true given the significant decline over the last 20 years in the management of federal lands in Montana. While forested state trust lands comprise only 3% of the forested landscape, they provide approximately 8 to 10% of the annual harvest in the State. If statewide harvest levels continue to decline on federal and private ownerships, harvests from state trust lands are likely to play a more significant role into the future. Many individuals (truckers, shop owners, etc.), companies, and local communities benefit from a consistent supply of raw materials from State trust lands.
- What is the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA)?
- The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), passed in 1971, requires state agencies to consider the potential effects of state actions on the natural and social environment. It is intended to foster sound decisions by state agencies and to ensure the public’s right to participate in state agency actions. MEPA has two central requirements:
- State agencies must make a deliberate effort to consider the effects of their actions on the natural and social environment prior to making a decision. The decisionmaker and the public should be well informed of the environmental impacts of the decision before the decision is made.
- State agencies must ensure that the public is properly informed and offered opportunities to participate in the decision making process. In order to fully understand the potential issues associated with and effects resulting from state actions, agencies are directed to obtain the input of others. This is important because state government often makes decisions that can impact the environment or affect personal property rights or quality of life, and no one decisionmaker has all the answers.
For more MEPA information see Citizen’s Guide to Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking.
