Projects
Featured Projects
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Non-time Critical Removal Action Adjacent to OU3 (Mitchell-Jackson)
This project is a Non-time Critical Removal Action to reduce fuels adjacent to OU3 to reduce the potential of wildfires moving into OU3.
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Minerals Projects
The Kootenai National Forest has several mining projects in various stages of development. These include the Libby Exploration Project and the Troy Mine Project.
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Ten Lakes Travel Management Planning
Proposed activities include designation of over-snow motorized use areas and non-winter trail management in the Congressionally-designated Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area.
Schedule of Proposed Actions - SOPA
The Forest publishes a Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA) four times a year: January, April, July and October. The SOPA provides project information, status, and contacts. To view the current and past SOPAs, visit the Forest Service SOPA page for the Kootenai National Forest.
Appeals and Objections
Environmental Appeal Responses
An Environmental Appeal is a formal request to an agency higher authority for review of an environmental planning (NEPA) decision. The public's rights to file an appeal are defined in specific appeal regulations. Usually, all administrative processes must be exhausted before a person can bring a court action (litigation) against with a NEPA decision. This usually includes the filing of a formal appeal.
- Kootenai National Forest Appeal responses issued after October 1, 2006
- Kootenai National Forest Appeal responses issued before October 1, 2006
Pre-Decisional Objection Responses
Objections are written documents submitted by an individual or organization seeking a pre-decisional administrative review of a proposed hazardous fuel reduction project authorized by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). The public may file objections after an environmental assessment or final environmental impact statement is completed and before a decision document is signed for a project under HFRA.
Interested in Receiving Forest Project Notifications?
For each new project on the Kootenai National Forest after July 10, 2023 you can sign up to receive project updates automatically using the signup form below.
Note on Project Listings
As you view project information, please note that the documents are being stored in a new file system and the folder and document dates that display in that system are the dates they were moved into the system. The dates on the folders and documents are not the dates the documents were created. To know the actual date of the project documents, you will need to go into the documents and note the dates within.
Kootenai National Forest Current and Recent Projects
Developing Proposal
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Pleasant Pheasant Project
We are proposing timber harvest; mechanical and hand piling of fuels; wildlife and aquatic habitat improvement such as prescribed burning and stream restoration work.
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Rock Creek Culvert Replacement
Replacing two culverts with new aquatic organism passage crossings in West Fork Rock Creek and Orr Creek to enhance year-round access to spawning and rearing habitat for bull trout and west slope cutthroat trout in the Rock Creek watershed.
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Rock Creek Road Realignment
Realignment of 0.7 miles of existing National Forest System Road 150 (Rock Creek Road) to reduce fine sediment from entering Rock Creek. Decommissioning and stablization of the remaining road bed and additional road maintenance.
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Smeads Pilgrim Motorized Trails Reroute
Realignment of two motorized trails, Smeads Bench Trail #1077 and South Fork Pilgrim Creek Trail #1084, to enhance resource protection and user access.
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St. Paul Trailhead Improvement
Relocation of the existing trailhead for the St. Paul Lake Trail #646, decommissioning and removal of developments at the remaining trailhead site, and relocation of the beginning portion of the trail to the new trailhead.
Under Analysis
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Douglas Hill OHV and Dispersed Camping Areas
Recreation Site management to address increased use
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East Fork Sunday Fire Salvage and Restoration
Fire salvage and reforestation in the 2023 East Fork Fire area.
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Edna Fortine Fuels Reduction Project
Fuels reduction in the wildland urban interface in the Edna Creek and Fortine Creek drainages adjacent to Trego, MT
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Glen Sinclair
Hazardous fuel reduction activities, including on Forest Service lands in the Wildland Urban Interface in the Glen Lake, Sinclair Creek, and Ksanka foothills areas.
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Kootenai National Forest Over-snow Motorized Use Travel Plan
Motorized over-snow planning across the forest. The Travel Management Rule provides direction for over-snow vehicle use in 36 CFR 212, Subpart C and this project will result in an over-snow motorized vehicle use map (OSVUM).
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McKay-Engle
Build resistance and resiliency to disturbance through vegetation management, reduce hazardous fuels, provide forest products, and build whitebark pine resistance to blister rust through restoration and planting
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Norman McCedar
Project to reduce fuels in the Libby fireshed.
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Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail Comprehensive Plan
The Comprehensive Plan will develop administrative and management goals, objectives and practices for public lands in Forest Service Regions 1 and Regions 6.
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Snowshoe Granite 1000 Roadside Fuelbreak
Roadside fuels management project within the wildland urban interface, including hazardous fuels reduction, wildfire suppression strategy, firefighter safety, and other resource-specific objectives.
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Trojan Defense Fuels Reduction Project
The project area is located within the Kootenai Complex part of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy landscape areas and the Lincoln County Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) which was designated to treat hazardous fuels surrounding the community of Troy.
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Tuscor
Vegetation and fuels management activities to address insect and disease and hazardous fuels in the project area. Located approximately 5 miles west of Trout Creek, Montana in the Tuscor Creek drainage.
Analysis Completed
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BMU 4 Access Project
The Cabinet Ranger District is proposing access changes in the Bull Bear Management Unit (BMU4) that reduce the total and open road density and increase the core habitat available to grizzly bears as required by the 2015 Land Management Plan.
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Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail Comprehensive Plan
The Comprehensive Plan will develop administrative and management objectives and practices and desired conditions for the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail on public lands in Forest Service Regions 1 and Regions 6.
On Hold
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Abayance to Bridge Trail Construction
Construct a 6.6 mile segment of the PNT between Abayance Bay Marina and the north side of the Pinkham Creek canyon and another 0.8 mile segment between the sound side of Pinkham Creek canyon and the Koocanusa Bridge to move trail off of HWY 37.
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Douglas Hill-Tobacco River Recreation Sites
modification of 3 recreation sites adjacent to Lake Koocanusa addressing overnight camping, dispersed sites, and ohv use
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Dry Creek Sediment Reduction
rehabilitation of deteriorating road system which is currently closed to all public motorized use, and prevent future mass wasting, sediment delivery and erosion from the road system to Dry Creek and related minor tributaries.
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Stimson Lumber Company Access
Provide management access to Stimson Lumber Company lands through National Forest land. Two short segments of new road, totaling about 2600 feet (about 3 acres), would replace access on costly and currently inaccessible National Forest System roads.
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Sunday Vegetation Management
Vegetation Management and Fuels Reduction in the Sunday Creek area.
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Swamped
Use vegetation management treatments to improve forest conditions, hazardous fuels levels, and wildlife habitat; proposal may also include transportation management, watershed improvement, and noxious weed treatment in an area southeast of Libby, MT.
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Ten Lakes Travel Management Project
Proposed activities include designation of over-snow motorized use areas and non-snow trail management.
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Vermilion River Restoration
stream habitat restoration program proposed for 9 specific reaches on the Vermilion River over a 10 yr period
Cancelled
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Airport Firearms Range Project
Improve safe operations to the visiting public on 4.9 acres not currently authorized under existing special use permit. Allow for increased parking and construction of berms, targets, benches & additional safety operations including reduced noise.
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Coyote Improvement
Harvest of approximately 240 acres to increase stand resilency to Mountain Pine Beetles.
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Flower Creek
This project includes fuel and vegetation management through commercial timber harvest, pre-commercial thinning and fuel grinding. Also includes 1.81 miles of road storage, 1 mile of temporary road construction, and 0.23 miles of trail construction.
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Kootenai Forestwide Young Growth Vegetation Management Project
Vegetation management via precommercial and commercial harvest, & burning of activity fuels only within previously managed, second growth stands across the Forest. The project is part of the Montana Governor's Forest in Focus Initiative.
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Smeads Bench Trail 1077 Reroute
This project is cancelled because it has been incorporated into another project. The updated project name and tracking number is Smeads Pilgrim Motorized Trails Reroute - #64079.
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Stargazing Mining Operation
Operators of the Stargazing mine are proposing a mining operation that would remove approximately 100 tons of placer material from the mountainside and set up three core drilling sites to explore for minerals.
Project Archive
Some of our older projects can be accessed in our Project Archive.