He's seen homes burned, families displaced and firefighters' lives put at risk.
Waldron hopes he'll not see that in his own backyard.
Now he's hoping the U.S. Forest Service will do its part.
“The Frenchtown Face is primed to burn,” Waldron said. “If the Forest Service doesn't perform some thinning within the next few years, we will lose homes up there and possibly lives.”
Earlier this month, the Forest Service presented its latest plan to reduce fuels along the Frenchtown Face. The plan also proposes to decommission unneeded roads, spray thousands of acres of noxious weeds and add some recreational facilities.
The idea for the plan has been around for years, but it's taken the agency some time to develop something officials believe can stand up to legal challenges, said Gary Edson, the Lolo National Forest's Ninemile District ranger.
The agency's first attempt at the project was challenged by the Ecology Center (now the WildWest Institute) and the Alliance for the Wild Rockies in 2006 on grounds the Forest Service hadn't done sufficient analysis on soils.
Since then, the agency completed a survey of soils in the area and added a supplement to the environmental record.
“We're really excited about this project,” Edson said. “We're looking at treating about 10,000 acres of vegetation. It's a big project. ... We've made some compromises based on issues brought up by the public. ... We're trying to make this project less confrontational and contentious. We've tried very hard to listen and react to the public's concerns.”
Alliance for the Wild Rockies executive director Michael Garrity said the agency made the right adjustments to address that group's concerns.
“We don't have a big problem with it,” Garrity said. “They made a bunch of changes we asked them to make. ... It's not a sale we're going to oppose. We appreciate that they listened to our concerns.”
There were a number of timber harvest units dropped from the final project as a result of the public's concerns over soil compaction, old growth and entering areas that are currently without roads, Edson said.
“The standards we use to administer timber sales have evolved a long ways from what we did 20 to 25 years ago,” Edson said. “Loggers used to, 25 years ago, just bring in their log skidders and go wherever they wanted. They now use designated roads. There's a much higher level of stewardship of the land now.
“If it gets wet out there, loggers will stop. They're not trying to push the envelope like they may have done before.”
The Frenchtown Face project proposes to harvest about 3,600 acres of timber. All of the harvest will occur within 1.5 miles of private land and residences.
“This isn't a regeneration treatment,” he said. “We'll be thinning to reduce fuels and reduce the crown density in an effort to lessen the potential for a crown fire. We'll leave the majority of the forest intact.”
The agency will use timber receipts to pay for decommissioning unneeded roads, replacing culverts, spraying noxious weeds and other projects, Edson said.
“A lot of funding for this other work will come through our stewardship contracts,” he said. “Once we have the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act documentation) completed, we'll also be able to look for additional appropriated funds and partnerships.”
The project also includes building two new off-highway vehicle trailheads and half a mile of new OHV trail to connect existing routes between Mill and Edith creeks. Another quarter-mile of mountain bike trail will connect existing trails near Kreis Pond and Camp Menard. A 1.5-mile horse trail will connect the Stony and Butler trailheads.
The plan would also improve fish habitat by rehabilitating a placer mining site, keep open a pair of gravel pits and develop a new riprap source.
If the project isn't challenged, Edson said, work could begin as early as this fall or next spring.
From Waldron's point of view, the sooner the better.
“Year after year, we see forest fires get out of control and burn down homes,” Waldron said. “Last year, it was eastern Montana's turn. It's impossible to say where the next one might be. This area, the Frenchtown Face, is at significant risk for wildfire.”
The Forest Service and its Ninemile Ranger District have done “an excellent job” in attempting to put together a project to address that issue, he said.
“The ongoing challenges they face through the legal system every time they turn around makes it increasingly difficult to get any of this work accomplished,” Waldron said.
Anytime there's fire around homes, the risk to firefighters increase dramatically, he said.
“The sooner we could get some thinning and other work done there, the better off we'll all be,” Waldron said. “The environment will be better and the public will be safer.”
Reporter Perry Backus can be reached at 523-5259 or at pbackus@missoulian.com
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