Starting in 1988 and occurring at 12-year intervals since then, the Ashland Ranger District in Eastern Montana has suffered through nasty wildland fire seasons. From 1988 to 2012 almost 290,000 acres burned on the Ashland Ranger District — 66 percent of forest lands on the district. As a result, there has been a 47 percent reduction in forest cover.

“Those fires in 2012 were so large and burned so hot and thoroughly that there was close to 100 percent ponderosa pine mortality,” said Marna Daley, Custer Gallatin National Forest information officer.

To help restore a portion of the most recently burned portion of the forest, the district is proposing to remove large dead trees and plant new ponderosa pines on portions of about 1,500 acres. “This is just a piece of a larger restoration strategy,” Daley said. “We’ve already replanted 365 acres adjacent to this treatment area.” In addition, the forest contracted for a logger to salvage trees 12 inches and larger from 250 acres this winter.

To move along the new project, the Forest Service is asking for public comment on the Fly Wilbur/North Whitetail Restoration Project, two areas that burned in 2012.

That was a particularly devastating fire year. About 155,000 acres burned across the Ashland Ranger District in the Ash Creek, Taylor Creek and Dutch fires. More than 249,000 acres burned across state, federal, tribal and private lands. The fire burned so hot within the Fly Wilbur/North Whitetail areas that almost all of the ponderosa pine trees were killed.

From the Billings Gazette: https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/forest-restoration-project-planned-near-ashland/article_eaf2c0f5-963a-52c1-8dc2-39fe710df344.html