WEST GLACIER - Wilderness fires that burned this summer along Glacier National Park's southwestern flank will impact sensitive trout fisheries, but crews will not step in to reduce the damage.
That's the word from an initial assessment of the Middle Fork and Rampage fire complexes, completed last week by a team of forest scientists.
Nevertheless, mitigation teams will not spend much time rehabilitating the remote drainage, because doing so would be "excessively costly and would adversely impact wilderness values," the report said.
The Coal Creek area is managed as primitive wilderness by park rangers.
The team of park and contract scientists also found the fires burned hot in some areas where trails and backcountry campgrounds dot the map, especially in the Coal Creek and Upper Park Creek drainages.
There, the team recommended cutting down burned snags, clearing hazards from trails and posting warning signs. They also recommended fixing or rebuilding water bars across trails, to help stem erosion, and monitoring for weed infestations, as well as planting whitebark pine seedlings.
Prior to the fires, the park's whitebark pines, a key food source for grizzly bears and other wildlife, were already struggling, dying from an introduced fungus. The summer's wildfires only made matters worse, burning out some of the last remaining stands.
Historic ranger cabins and mountain lookouts, however, did not burn out, and so crews will not have to busy themselves rehabilitating any buildings.
According to the report, most of the burned areas will revegetate with grasses and forbs next spring, regardless of rehabilitation efforts.
Reporter Michael Jamison can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at mjamison@missoulian.com
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