U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Lewistown Field Office
Lewistown Field Office
| Contacts: | Craig Flentie 406-538-1943 |
BLM Moves Toward Salvage Logging in Limekiln Canyon
The Bureau of Land Management has started implementing the Limekiln Canyon/Ruby Ridge Salvage Timber Sale in the Limekiln Canyon north east of Lewistown.
A contract has been awarded and construction work has begun on a salvage logging road that will facilitate salvage logging on about 570 acres of BLM and 267 acres of state timber that was severely damaged by a wind event late in the spring of ‘08.
The project area begins about .7 mile north east of the Duvall Inn and lies between the upper reaches of Burnette Creek and Burnette Peak.
The road construction project should be completed this spring and immediately following, logging contacts will be awarded and heavy equipment will be using the new road (as well as the county road out of Limekiln Canyon).
Throughout the road construction and logging phases of this effort, which will last roughly three years, the project area will be managed as an avoidance area and the public is advised not to drive past the established parking lot at the Duvall Inn.
While the construction and logging work is taking place, heavy equipment will be using the road continuously and the steep slopes in the canyon will contribute to rolling rocks, timber and other debris. “From the public health and safety and contract administration perspectives, it makes good common sense for the public to avoid the area until there is less heavy equipment activity,” offered Willy Frank, the BLM’s Field Manager in Lewistown.
“We view this project as a win-win situation since the vast majority of the developed hiking trail system in the Limekiln Canyon area will remain available to hikers and logging the damaged timber will create some badly needed economic activity in the timber sector and reduce the fuels that can contribute to catastrophic fire,” Frank added.
The BLM will be signing the area at the public parking lot at the Duvall Inn and along the current road that runs north east from the Duvall Inn. Schematic maps of the area will also be available at the BLM’s Lewistown District Office.
At the conclusion of the salvage logging, portions of the new road and about a half-mile of established road in the canyon bottom will be completely or partially reclaimed, and subsequently developed into additional hiking trails. This concept was incorporated into the Limekiln Canyon/Ruby Gulch Salvage Timber Sale environmental assessment based upon public comments received in 2009.
If you have questions about this project, please contact Rod Sanders, a BLM outdoor recreation planner, at 538-1900.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Lewistown Field Office 920 NE Main Street Lewistown, MT 59457