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Montana Sells First Timber Sale on Flathead National Forest
Release Date: Jul 3, 2019
Kalispell, Mont., July 3, 2019 – The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) yesterday awarded the winning bid for the Liger Good Neighbor Authority (GNA) Timber Sale, the latest effort in a growing state-federal partnership to increase management activities and restoration outcomes on federal lands in Montana.
The Liger Sale is Montana’s third forest-management project to date utilizing Good Neighbor Authority, an initiative which allows the state to manage the harvest of timber on federal lands. Liger is the first GNA project to take place on the Flathead National Forest.
St. Onge Logging, of Kalispell Montana, submitted the winning bid to purchase the 386-acre sale, which will produce approximately 1.6 million board-feet of timber. Forest managers with DNRC and USFS say the restoration project southeast of Hungry Horse and Martin City in Flathead County will decrease wildfire intensity and severity while increasing safety for adjacent landowners and firefighters and will produce a forest with more age diversity and resilience to future insect and disease outbreaks.
The Liger project will generate approximately $376,798; those funds will be reinvested into future projects such as hazardous fuels reduction, forest restoration, weed spraying, and stream improvement activities.
DNRC and the Northern Region of the Forest Service have more GNA projects scheduled for the future and are working to establish a robust program of work to utilize GNA on other national forest lands in Montana.
“GNA allows the State, Forest Service, and other partners to improve forest health, reduce wildfire threats to communities, create jobs, and produce economic benefits from Montana’s National Forests, said Sonya Germann, DNRC Forestry Division Administrator “The Liger project is an outstanding opportunity to utilize GNA to reach these goals.”
“We recognize the need and benefits of resource and vegetation management on all lands,” said Chip Weber, Flathead National Forest Supervisor. “I am very proud of the foresight and collaboration of employees on the Flathead National Forest and the state as they forged the way for this and future collaborative efforts to advance restoration work on the ground across the state.”
Liger is part of the larger Hungry Lion Forest Service project. Under 2018 Farm Bill authorities, the Flathead National Forest and DNRC identified areas around the communities of Hungry Horse, Martin City, Coram, and West Glacier to be included in Governor Bullock’s request for Priority Landscape designation, which was approved by the Chief of the Forest Service.
Yesterday’s timber sale and other GNA projects planned across Montana’s forests are the result of many years of hard work and commitment between the DNRC, U.S. Forest Service, local government, industry partners, conservation organizations, collaborative and watershed groups, and other partners.
For additional information on Good Neighbor Authority Timber Sales in Montana visit:
For additional information on the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation cross-boundary collaborative and shared stewardship approach visit:
http://dnrc.mt.gov/news/governor-bullock-unveils-new-forestry-stewardship-partnership
https://www.fs.fed.us/managing-land/farm-bill/gna