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Crews are expected to begin work in the Sawmill Gulch area of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area on July 1 to thin timber and reduce the threat of wildfire to Rattlesnake Valley residents.

The work is expected to continue for several months. Truck traffic along Sawmill Gulch Road and Rattlesnake Drive will be limited to weekdays, and logging trucks will not operate during commuter hours.

The project area is about 300 feet northwest of the Sawmill Gulch trailhead and covers 178 acres.

The work will not involve parking or area closures, but hikers, runners and bikers can expect to encounter work crews, truck traffic and occasional short-term trail closures.

Hikers and others should keep a 300-foot buffer between themselves and operating equipment.

To help separate motorized and non-motorized traffic, a recreation trail from the main Rattlesnake trailhead - running parallel to Sawmill Gulch Road - has been extended to the Sawmill Gulch trailhead.

Log trucks cannot back up easily, so if motorists encounter a truck they should find a safe place to pull over, or back up until they can safely pull out of the way.

During the summer of 2003, wildfires burned thousands of acres of national forest land near Missoula. These fires increased local landowner awareness of fuel loading and desire to reduce fuels - on their own land as well as national forest land adjacent to their properties.

After the area suffered extensive forest fire activity in 2003, the local chapters of the Sierra Club and the Society of American Foresters started looking for opportunities to work together with the U.S. Forest Service along the border between the forest and the urban fringe.

In particular, they wanted an opportunity that included commercial timber harvest as well as hand slashing and prescribed burning. The Sawmill Gulch project will reduce the threat of high intensity fire in the project area.

Current information on the project will be posted at the Sawmill Gulch trailhead to keep the public updated on thinning activities and any short-term trail closures.

For more information on this project, contact Acting Missoula District Ranger Tom Rhode at 329-3948. For current information on trails, please contact the Missoula Ranger District at 329-3814.

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