Selway Bitterroot News Today

State and federal agencies are collaborating to increase the use of prescribed fires in the Northwest. Prescribed fire is the controlled use of burns to minimize the larger risks of wildfires and smoke. It is seen as an increasingly important strategy as wildfire seasons pose greater threats to the Northwest. ...

A new study in the journal Nature Communications by Montana researchers said suppressing small wildfires is leading to larger, more intense and damaging blazes. According to the U.S. Forest Service, about 98% of wildfires are fully suppressed before they grow to 100 acres; most of them within 72 hours. ...

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has awarded $3.1 million for 13 projects to reduce wildfire risk to communities and improve forest health. The funding money is part of the $15 million Montana Forest Action Plan, which takes a big-picture approach to reducing the risk of wildfires. Wyatt Frampton, deputy division administrator of forestry and trust lands for the Montana Department of Natural Resources, said the money will be used to foster fire-management cooperatio...

Today is the deadline for public comment on Montanas Lolo National Forest management plan. Advocates say the input will shape how the land is used for decades, but others say it could go further. This is the first time the Lolo management plan has been revised since the late 1980s, said Montana Wildlife Federation board member and retired U.S. ...

Projects take place in Idaho and Montana in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Areas.

The Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation is accepting volunteers for trail maintenance projects in Idaho and Montana forests.

The trail, a zigzag that drapes repeatedly across the ridge and the border between the two states about 47 miles west of Missoula, used to be a marquee backcountry ride for mountain bikers. That ended in 2012 when the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, which controls the Idaho side of the trail, approved a new travel management plan that barred bicycles from its portion of the trail.

Lucas James Fitzpatrick, known to all as Luke, passed away Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. He was born in Lewiston on Aug. 21, 1987.

The West Fork Ranger District is planning to conduct a large-scale prescribed burn operation next week, weather permitting.

The lightning-caused Bowles Creek fire near Skalkaho Pass grew more than 2,300 acres on Wednesday and Thursday to 6,847 acres.