Final decision OK'd for Redd Bull Project

The Lolo National Forest last week issued a final decision notice for a portion of the Redd Bull Project, located on the Superior Ranger District south of St. Regis between Interstate 90 and the Montana/Idaho border within the Dry, Cold, Little Joe, Twomile, and Ward Creek drainages in Mineral County.

This is one of two decisions the Forest Service intends to issue from the Redd Bull Project Environmental Assessment. Throughout the project the Forest has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding the project’s potential effects to bull trout, a species native to Montana that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The USFWS shared their concerns about the general decline of bull trout populations in the middle Clark Fork core area that is within the Redd Bull Project. Although one of the projects’ objectives was to improve native fish habitat, and actions were identified that benefited bull trout, more time is needed with the USFWS to evaluate how to accomplish this objective and consider additional actions that would enhance spawning habitat for bull trout within the Little Joe Creek drainage.

This first decision authorizes vegetation treatments on approximately 20,684 acres (6,485 acres of timber harvest and 14,778 acres of non-commercial treatments (some treatments overlap)), road and recreation management activities and an amendment to the Forest Plan to correct a mapping error. These activities will have no effect (positive or negative) on bull trout and designated critical habitat as jointly determined by the Forest Service and USFWS.

“The Forest didn’t want to delay this project further,” said Abby Lane, District Ranger on the Superior Ranger District of the Lolo National Forest. “We wanted to move forward with the projects we could, especially those that address the growing concerns of wildfire risk and tree mortality from insects and disease while providing economic benefits to the local economy.”

The project will begin as soon as the summer of 2024 and will utilize a variety of management tools such as timber harvest, prescribed burning, and non-commercial mechanical vegetation treatments. Due to the existing landscape conditions and proximity to communities at-risk, the Redd Bull project includes strategically placed vegetation treatments to slow fire spread and reduce fire intensity, increasing the options for effective fire suppression actions. Some of the vegetation treatments are also specifically designed to improve forage conditions for deer and elk.

Road management activities that will be implemented through this decision include the replacement of a culvert to allow fish passage, opening roads for public use, decommissioning unneeded roads, storing some roads that may not be needed for a long time, and constructing new roads.

The project outlines upgrades to existing recreation facilities to address safety and resource concerns, the construction of new trails and trail improvements, the management of dispersed campsites, and developing and improving scenic vistas to provide diverse recreation opportunities that current and future public demands.

For more information on the Redd Bull Project and to review the Final Decision Notice, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/lolo/landmanagement/projects.