Daines continues to ramp up restoration for Montana’s burned national forests

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) has successfully worked with local communities and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to bring forest salvage and restoration projects to Montana that will reduce potential devastating wildfires in the state’s national forests and create more Treasure State jobs.

Most recently, Sen. Daines announced on Aug. 6 that the USFS approved an Emergency Situation Determination (ESD) for the Caribou Fire Salvage and Restoration Project, the fifth such approval the senator has achieved for Montana this year in which the project goals are to recover the economic value of fire-damaged timber, minimize hazards and provide reforestation prospects.

“Last year’s wildfires were devastating for Montana’s communities and forests,” said Sen. Daines this week. “Our state and towns were covered with smoke for weeks at a time, and our once-flourishing forests turned into tinderboxes.”

The lawmaker said this week he was thankful the USFS “responded to my request – and the request of local communities – to complete post-fire forest restoration work as quickly as possible.”

The newly approved Caribou Fire Salvage and Restoration Project in the Kootenai National Forest, which is located in the northwestern section of Montana and the Idaho panhandle along the Canada-U.S. border, is slated to recover the economic value of timber damaged in a 2017 fire that burned 24,753 acres. The project will include salvaging roughly 4,075 acres of dead and dying trees in the forest, amounting for an estimated 39 million board feet of timber, according to information on the salvage projects provided by Daines’ office. Work also is planned for removing harmful trees along 46 miles of roads.

In July, Sen. Daines announced the approval of three other Montana salvage and restoration projects: the Sheep Gap Fire Salvage Project located on the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest in Sanders County; the Cub Creek Fire Salvage Project located on the Cabinet Ranger District in Sanders County; and the West Fork Salvage and Restoration Project to restore other areas of the Kootenai National Forest.

Additionally, an ESD for the Sunrise fire in the Lolo National Forest near Superior, Mont., was approved on May 31 by the USFS, which is reviewing 14 recent wildfires to conduct post-fire salvage operations in western Montana, according to Sen. Daines’ office.

“These projects are not only crucial to reducing the risk of future catastrophic wildfires, they will create good paying jobs for Montanans and revitalize our timber industry,” said Sen. Daines, who released comprehensive data on Aug. 6 showing that his efforts and those of local elected officials and forest collaboratives have resulted in the planned restoration of a total of almost 24,000 acres and nearly 15,000 acres of total salvaged timber.

Sen. Daines also filed an amendment during current consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill in the U.S. Senate that would encourage USFS to continue carrying out urgent actions using ESDs in response to fires and other emergencies in Montana’s national forests, according to the lawmaker’s office.