Weed management plan now finalized

Representatives from Fish, Wildlife and Parks stopped in last week to visit with the commissioners and to give them an update on where they were with the Fish Creek project.

Last year, FWP took ownership of the 34,573 acre Fish Creek Wildlife Management Area and 6,234 acre Fish Creek State Park in June. Mack Long, regional manager for Montana FWP, said that this was just one of three major land acquisitions they took over last year.

The two land sets are currently being managed by an interim management plan that is effective until June 2013, at which time FWP plans to have a more refined plan in place for the wildlife management area (WMA) and state park.

“We’ve been doing a lot of coordination and we’ve had some good people down on the ground,” Long said. “A lot of the stuff we’ve been doing is just basic maintenance.”

Two of the bigger items that have required the FWP’s focus are the management of weeds and looking at road maintenance.

In 2010, FWP finalized the weed management plan with Mineral County and completed ten biological control releases, using live insects for weed control on the WMA. Seventy-seven miles of previously closed roads were also treated for weeds and seeded with native grasses to reduce erosion and sedimentation.

On the state park properties, FWP initiated eight biological control releases and applied chemical weed control to 179 acres, including 18 miles of secondary roads.

“There’s been a lot of weed control efforts,” Long said. “We’re trying to get a handle on the weeds. It’s sort of like when you buy any piece of property, there’s stuff that has to be done.”

Long said that the roads and access has been an issue.

“There are a lot of real problem areas with the roads down there,” Long said. “We want to provide access for people, but at the same time access doesn’t have to be everywhere.”

Long said that the goal is to maintain access. He said that they have to keep in mind though that with the WMA any decisions made have to be positive for wildlife.

“Our goal is to have enough roads in place to access different areas,” Long said. “But wildlife has to be number one and roads do change wildlife patterns. They will navigate and uses landscape differently.”

Long said that right now they don’t have a solid idea of what roads will or will not stay open. This year, FWP plans to work with other agencies to address chronic road washouts on the open road system and identify other areas. Keeping road clear of debris continually is also important as well as other maintenance needs.

Lee Bastian, regional park manager for FWP, talked a little bit about what they want to do with the state park. He said that they want to try and plan for recreational activities in tune with the lay of the land.

He said that currently, they’ve been trying to get a sense of what’s out there. Bastian talked about what a public trail system might look like as well putting out units for camping.

One of the neat things they are looking at is the Williams Peak Lookout. The structure was assessed by an engineering firm last July and evaluated what would be required to restore the structure so that it is safe for either administrative or public use.

“We were thinking maybe using it as an overnight rental,” Bastian said. “We envision that could be pretty popular.”

To make it safe for the public’s use, FWP would be looking at renovation costs of around $30,000. Funding sources for that would be an issue and Long noted that there are several bills in the legislature session that could already affect FWP’s financial condition.

The long-term plan for the state park is to generate some sort of income from the state park. Bastian said that as they move forward they want to get folks involved and engage those who live in the area locally.

Another issue with the area is posting signage to let those using the area know about boundaries. Last summer, crews posted a WMA map and state park map at the north and south entryways into Fish Creek. This year, they have plans to begin signing the boundaries of the WMA and state park.

Other plans for 2011 include continue to conduct wildlife surveys into the areas, streamside restoration and continue to look at the fish populations. Weed control will be a continued effort and parks, fisheries, wildlife and enforcement crews will be on the ground.