Bitterroot Restoration Committee On-the-Ground Projects

The Bitterroot Restoration Committee is involved with the following projects.

Butterfly Creek

Located adjacent to Butterfly Creek, which is part of the larger Willow Creek drainage, is a small 250 acre area with old Ponderosa pine stands and dense Douglas fir growing underneath. The Bitterroot Restoration Committee (BRC) offered a set of recommendations to the Forest Service with the following goals:

• Protect and restore old growth Ponderosa Pine stands by making them more resistant to fire.
• Protect water quality threatened by catastrophic wildfire and road reconstruction /use.
• Maintain visual quality from the Valley floor and from adjoining areas.
• Enhance recreational opportunities because of improved habitat and visual quality.
• Provide for low-impact, long-term access for ongoing maintenance.
• Consider use of an improved road for recreation.

These goals are included as part of a larger consensus agreement the BRC approved and submitted to the Bitterroot National Forest. At this time the agency is considering the recommendations and may include them in a future project for the area.

Darby Lumber Lands

The Bitterroot Restoration Committee has been meeting for more than a year with the goal of identifying and facilitating common ground projects among a wide range of diverse interests, and the old Darby Lumber Lands provides a real opportunity to integrate education, restoration, and recreation to meet all interests.

Several sections of the old Darby Lumber Lands that were transferred to the Bitterroot National Forest include roads built by the former company that do not meet Forest Service standards and are eroding in places.

This may be increasing stream sedimentation in Sleeping Child Creek, Cat House Creek and upper Rye Creek. Some of these roads could provide motorized recreation opportunities, while others may need maintenance or decommissioning to meet forest management goals and improve watershed integrity.

The BRC is currently discussing recommendations on removing several miles of roads, and identifying opportunities for motorized recreation loops.