Call it a full circle project. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supplied grant funding for an ongoing forest management/research project in northwest Montana near the town of Troy, where RMEF began operations in 1984.
The 1,500-acre project lies on private land next to the Bull River Wildlife Management Area, which serves as critical habitat for grizzly bears as well as elk, lynx, moose, deer, bull trout and other wildlife.
“We’re going to create grizzly bear habitat or enhance existing habitat,” Chas Vincent, owner of Vincent Logging, told NBC Montana. “Doing so will enhance habitat for all the other critters that are living around here or might live in here. We’re also studying it, in our success or failure, at the same time.”
The collaborative effort also involves the Hecla Mining Company, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and others.
Crews focused on thinning 400 acres of overly thick, closed canopy forests by removing dead, dying and smaller diameter trees, while leaving larger trees as cover for grizzlies and other wildlife. They will also clean up slash piles and treat the ground so new vegetation, that serves as forage for many species, will grow more easily.
The project will guide future forest management while providing wood products to boost the local forest industry and reduce the risk of high-intensity wildfires.
(Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)