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Marshall Woods Restoration Project
Click here for a general overview of the Marshall Woods project.
Click here for information on the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Mangement Strategy.
8/30/2017- Marshall Woods Project Update
Over the last two months, ongoing progress has continued with the Marshall Woods Restoration Project in the Woods Gulch area. Here is a list of what has been accomplished this summer and what is coming.
Completed Work North of Woods Gulch:
-
Unit 6 - hand thinning and piling immediately adjacent to and north of the upper Three Larches trail.
-
Unit 62 west half – hand thinning and piling
-
Unit 70 - hand thinning and piling from the Horse Trailhead south to the Quast Ditch along trail @112
-
Unit 91- hand thinning and piling located to the west of Unit 6
-
Unit 92 - hand thinning and piling
In Progress Upper Woods Gulch:
-
Unit 82 – hand thinning on the west side of unit
Starting on August 31st South of Woods Gulch:
- Unit 64 – hand thinning and piling
Please refer to the project area map.
Marshall Woods Restoration Project Implementation
See Final Decision Map for Unit Locations
2018 Schedule
|
Project Location |
Activity |
Timeline |
Outcome |
Potential Impacts to Visitors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Unit 1- |
Commercial thinning, layout, marking, and tree cruising |
Likely to be thinned fall 2018 or summer 2019 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation, increase forest resilience to insect and disease, and improve wildlife habitat |
|
|
Units 5 and 60- Three Larches area |
Pre-commercial thinning and potential hand piling |
Beginning as early as September 24, 2018 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
|
Units 6 and 91- |
Hand thinning and piling of trees 10" in diameter or less on 184 acres Pile burning Photos:https://www.flickr.com |
Piles will likely be burned fall 2018 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
|
Unit 92- |
Hand thinning and piling of trees 10" in diameter or less on 69 acres Pile burning |
Piles will likely be burned fall 2018 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
|
Unit 62 (Western portion)- |
Hand thinning and potential hand piling Pile burning |
Piles will likely be burned fall 2018 |
Thinning is intended to provide a fuel bed for soil nutrients and future prescribed burning |
|
|
Unit 82 (Western portion)- |
Hand thinning of trees less than 8" in diameter on 40 acres Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/141085891 |
Completed Area to be underburned in 2-3 years |
Thinning is intended to provide a fuel bed for soil nutrients and future prescribed burning |
|
|
Unit 64-Mt. Jumbo area |
Hand thinning and piling of trees 10” in diameter or less Pile burning |
Piles will likely be burned fall 2018 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
|
Road work- Forest Road 2122, Marshall Canyon road |
Best Management Practices road work: ditch and drain cleaning, and road blading |
Completed |
Road maintenance to improve condition and drainage to reduce sediment contribution and improve water quality during project implementation |
|
|
Unit 70-Rattlesnake Main Trailhead |
Hand thinning and piling of trees 8” in diameter or less Pile burning |
Piles will likely be burned fall of 2018 or fall of 2019 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation |
|
|
Units 100A and 100B- along Rattlesnake Creek and Poe Meadows area |
Encroaching conifers cut and hand piled Aspen parent-trees retained and cut trees loosely piled around aspen clumps to reduce browsing pressure on regenerating sprouts Potential pile burning
|
Begining in the next couple of years |
Meadow and aspen restoration |
|
|
Noxious weed treatments throughout the project area with focus on Units 61, 64, 70 and 90; Marshall Canyon Rd. #2122 and roads into Units 63, 84 and 200. |
Weed spraying, Biological Control Releases, Hand Pulling and Mechanical Control |
Began June 2016 |
Control and reduce weed populations. |
|
|
Unit 200-Marshall Canyon on acquired section 33 |
Hand thinning of trees 8” in diameter or less |
Began June 2016 |
Thinning is intended to provide a fuel bed for soil nutrients and future prescribed burning |
|
|
Unit 71-Rattlesnake corridor |
Pile burning |
Began July 2016 Pile burning completed Possible underburn spring 2019 |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation |
|
|
Spring Creek Bridge Abutment in Main Rattlesnake Corridor |
Abutment repair and erosion control |
Completed |
To improve drainage at the Spring Ck. crossing by reducing sediment and improving water quality |
|
|
Unit 80-Marshall Canyon on acquired section 31 |
Hand Thinning of trees 8” in diameter or less |
Completed |
Thinning is intended to provide a fuel bed for soil nutrients and future prescribed burning |
|
|
Unit 61-Woods Gulch area |
Pile burning to begin Fall 2017 Photos:
|
Completed |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
|
Unit 90-Woods Gulch area |
Pile burning began October 2017 |
Completed |
Reduce risk of crown fire initiation and increase forest resilience to insect and disease |
|
Additional Resource Information
And here is a short video on how we have been working with our partners at Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and private homeowners to carry out the important fuel reduction and thinning work that the Marshall Woods project is grounded in. Please share with others who might want to understand both the intent of this project and how collaborative, local efforts between homeowners and agencies can produce valuable results.