The Daily Inter Lake

Roads closed for salvage operations

Winter timber salvage operations near Hungry Horse Dam and in the North Fork Flathead River basin are prompting temporary restrictions on snowmobile access.

The Flathead National Forest announced Monday that the west side road along Hungry Horse Reservoir is closed to all public traffic on weekdays but will be open to snowmobiles on weekends.

The weekday closure is aimed at safely accommodating logging trucks coming off the Beta Timber Sale, where timber is still being salvaged three years after a wildfire burned through the area.

Pyramid Mountain Lumber of Seeley Lake is conducting the salvage operation and plowing the west side road, No. 895, north of Hungry Horse Dam as well as Doris Road, No. 895A.

Gordy Sanders, Pyramid's general manager, said he anticipates that 750,000 to 1 million board feet of timber will come off the Beta Sale. That's a fraction of what was commercially usable three years ago; most of it has deteriorated to a point where its worthless. The logs that do come off the sale will be usable by log home builders in Western Montana, but the wood won't be viable as dimension lumber.

"When you turn it into boards, you have cracks and worm holes that just won't work," he said.

That sale and others were held up by a lawsuit alleging that the work would compromise grizzly bear habitat. A final ruling allowed the harvest to continue.

Snowmobilers can use the West Side Reservoir Road, which provides access to other terrain, from midnight Fridays to midnight Sundays during the salvage operations. Snowmobilers must park in the parking lot at the west end of the dam.

Up the North Fork, the first three miles of the McGinnis Creek Road, No. 803, will be closed to all traffic, including snowmobiles, starting Dec. 11. The closure will be lifted when harvest operations are finished.

Hungry Horse District Ranger Jimmy DeHerrera is urging snowmobilers to ride with caution on weekends. While there will not be log truck traffic, Pyramid Mountain contractor vehicles will be using the road.

"We appreciate Pyramid working with us so we can continue to provide for winter recreation," DeHerrera said. "It is very important that snowmobilers ride with caution and control their speed on the plowed section of Road 895."