WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION
Montana Wildfire Preparedness Guide
Fire is as much a part of Montana as big skies, rugged mountains, and hardworking people. It is so integral to our landscapes that we, as Montanans, must learn to live with fire.
Is Your Property Fire Resilient?
SVWC's FUELS REDUCTION PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE TO ASSESS FIRE RESILIENCY & PROVIDE ASSISTANCE FOR YOU!
The SVWC board of directors would like to give special thanks to Zach Patten for his time, diligence and continued eagerness to learn as he helped us develop this podcast and slideshow, bringing awareness to the wildfire community.
COST-SHARE AVAILABLE TO HELP MAKE YOUR HOME & PROPERTY MORE FIRE RESILIENT
Your forest land along the Beartooth Front is a treasure. Through proactive management you can keep it that way.
SVWC'S fuels project is dedicated to connecting forest landowners with resources to help manage land for your priorities.
Through 2024, the SVWC is offering a FREE visit from a local forester to answer a variety of questions including:
1) How do I protect my forest and home from wildfire, insects and diseases?
2) How can I attract more wildlife to my property?
3) How can I leave my land better than when I got it?
Who qualifies?
Landowners in the Stillwater watershed, located in the outlying areas of Absarokee, Nye, Fishtail, Dean and Roscoe, with small tract forests or forested rangeland areas along the Beartooth Front qualify for this program provided by the SVWC.
How can I get involved?
Simply fill out the request form by clicking the button below, specifying this fuels reduction project, and return it to the SVWC with your membership payment of $35. Once we receive your application, you will be contacted and an appointment scheduled with our forester.
Here is a great video to highlighting what it means to be fire resilient: https://fireadaptednetwork.org/…/learn-about-wildfire-resi…/
SVWC'S fuels project is dedicated to connecting forest landowners with resources to help manage land for your priorities.
Through 2024, the SVWC is offering a FREE visit from a local forester to answer a variety of questions including:
1) How do I protect my forest and home from wildfire, insects and diseases?
2) How can I attract more wildlife to my property?
3) How can I leave my land better than when I got it?
Who qualifies?
Landowners in the Stillwater watershed, located in the outlying areas of Absarokee, Nye, Fishtail, Dean and Roscoe, with small tract forests or forested rangeland areas along the Beartooth Front qualify for this program provided by the SVWC.
How can I get involved?
Simply fill out the request form by clicking the button below, specifying this fuels reduction project, and return it to the SVWC with your membership payment of $35. Once we receive your application, you will be contacted and an appointment scheduled with our forester.
Here is a great video to highlighting what it means to be fire resilient: https://fireadaptednetwork.org/…/learn-about-wildfire-resi…/
Grant Application Ranks Nationally for Wildland Urban Interface Funding
JUNE 2021 - The Stillwater Valley is comprised of dry ponderosa pine forests and open rangelands being encroached by juniper and Douglas-fir, as well as higher elevation mixed conifer forests. Several large wildfires, most significantly the Derby Fire of 2006, have threatened private lands and developments in the area in recent years. Vegetative fuel conditions are dangerous because of low precipitation, overstocked forests, and blowdown-aftermath. Slope steepness, windy conditions and lack of access roads make firefighting in many areas particularly difficult/dangerous.
The intent of the Upper Stillwater Watershed Hazardous Fuels Mitigation Project is to reduce hazardous fuel conditions around the communities in the Stillwater River watershed. Areas in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) around the communities of Absarokee, Fishtail, Dean, Nye, Roscoe and Columbus will the focus.
The WUI areas are characterized by extreme wind-driven fire behavior, rural residential development with poor ingress and egress, and limited fire response capacity. Rural fire districts share fire protection with the USFS, DNRC and BLM. Communities in the area are also popular seasonal recreation destinations intermixed with working farms and ranches. The project provides homeowners with cost-share assistance for fuels reduction projects, prevention and mitigation materials, and continuing education regarding wildland fire.
This project will complement adjacent fuel treatments on past WUI funded areas as well as federal and private lands to establish stand-replacing fire resistant landscapes and maximize the scale of treatments for community-wide protection. The cooperation of this type of cross-boundary fuel mitigation directly reduces the fire risk on individual properties, in addition to properties and communities adjacent to treated areas. Furthermore, past experience on adjacent projects indicates efforts to reduce fire risk and restore fire adapted landscapes on private lands is a driving force that strengthens planning processes for future fuel reduction and restoration projects on adjacent public land.
The intent of the Upper Stillwater Watershed Hazardous Fuels Mitigation Project is to reduce hazardous fuel conditions around the communities in the Stillwater River watershed. Areas in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) around the communities of Absarokee, Fishtail, Dean, Nye, Roscoe and Columbus will the focus.
The WUI areas are characterized by extreme wind-driven fire behavior, rural residential development with poor ingress and egress, and limited fire response capacity. Rural fire districts share fire protection with the USFS, DNRC and BLM. Communities in the area are also popular seasonal recreation destinations intermixed with working farms and ranches. The project provides homeowners with cost-share assistance for fuels reduction projects, prevention and mitigation materials, and continuing education regarding wildland fire.
This project will complement adjacent fuel treatments on past WUI funded areas as well as federal and private lands to establish stand-replacing fire resistant landscapes and maximize the scale of treatments for community-wide protection. The cooperation of this type of cross-boundary fuel mitigation directly reduces the fire risk on individual properties, in addition to properties and communities adjacent to treated areas. Furthermore, past experience on adjacent projects indicates efforts to reduce fire risk and restore fire adapted landscapes on private lands is a driving force that strengthens planning processes for future fuel reduction and restoration projects on adjacent public land.
Era of Megafires
APRIL 2017 - The Wildfire Project is a 60-minute, multi-media, traveling presentation hosted by Dr. Paul Hessburg (Pacific Northwest Research Station and the University of Washington), who has conducted fire and landscape ecology research for more than 27 years. The presented material comes in the form of fast-moving, short, topic-based talks interspersed with compelling video vignettes and features the work of wildfire photographer, John Marshall. The videos are created by, award-winning documentary film company, North 40 Productions, of Wenatchee, WA.
This short documentary from North 40 Productions talks about 27 years of fire and landscape ecology research. Click below to view trailer...
This short documentary from North 40 Productions talks about 27 years of fire and landscape ecology research. Click below to view trailer...
Nye Fuels Reduction Project near Horseman Flat
FEBRUARY 2013 - The Beartooth Ranger District held a public meeting on Feb. 20, 2013 to discuss its proposal to log 635 acres to reduce fire danger along Horseman Flats, located between the Stillwater River and West Fork Stillwater Creek drainages. “Several large wildfires have threatened private lands and developments in the Stillwater area in recent memory including Derby, Cathedral, Initial Creek, Sauderbaum, Tumble Creek and Storm Creek,” said Jeff Stockwell, Beartooth fire management officer, in a press release. “The district has been working with the Nye Volunteer Fire Department and the Stillwater Mining Co. to address concerns and seek input to the proposed project.”
A project map and an opportunity for public comment are below. The Forest Service anticipates starting the work in 2014. The project aims to reduce hazardous fuel conditions along the 8 1/2-mile long West Fork Stillwater Creek Road and in densely forested stands along the road by hand and machine thinning work done by Forest Service crews and a contract logger.
The Forest Service is concerned that the Main and West Fork Stillwater drainages are capable of supporting another large fire that could move quickly through forest lands and threaten public and private property.
Slash generated by the project would be piled and burned, larger materials would provide public and/or commercial firewood harvesting.
For more information, contact Jeff Stockwell, district fire management officer, at 446-4538 or Drew Grimes, fuels, fire management specialist, at 446-4528.
A project map and an opportunity for public comment are below. The Forest Service anticipates starting the work in 2014. The project aims to reduce hazardous fuel conditions along the 8 1/2-mile long West Fork Stillwater Creek Road and in densely forested stands along the road by hand and machine thinning work done by Forest Service crews and a contract logger.
The Forest Service is concerned that the Main and West Fork Stillwater drainages are capable of supporting another large fire that could move quickly through forest lands and threaten public and private property.
Slash generated by the project would be piled and burned, larger materials would provide public and/or commercial firewood harvesting.
For more information, contact Jeff Stockwell, district fire management officer, at 446-4538 or Drew Grimes, fuels, fire management specialist, at 446-4528.
Derby Fire Line Noxious Weed Treatment
SEPTEMBER 2013 - One of the main goals of the SVWC was to treat remote infestations of weeds along the 2006 Derby Fire’s fire line and attending trail system. This goal was accomplished in September 2010 and again in 2013 when over 18 acres of noxious weeds were treated by four landowners and over 100 hours of labor. Bulldozed fire breaks and trails covering nearly 75 miles were scouted. The daunting task was to identify and treat these smaller infestations before they spread to adjacent private and U.S. Forest Service lands.
This particular area had been relatively weed free up to this time, but weed seeds brought in by the many fire crews from a variety of different states around the nation established seed sources along the entire road and fire break system.
This particular area had been relatively weed free up to this time, but weed seeds brought in by the many fire crews from a variety of different states around the nation established seed sources along the entire road and fire break system.