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Covering the Bitterroot Valley – “Where Montana Begins!”
’ ! l a c o est at L
‘The B Volume XXXIV, Number 33
Fascination with fish
Established 1985 - Locally owned & independent
Draft decision notice released for Darby LL Project Phase 2
During his tenure with FWP, Chris Clancy spent a lot of time with youth in the valley in varying educational venues, hoping to impart some of the same wonder and fascination in nature that he awoke to as a young boy kicking around on the banks of Beaver Creek near Havre.
Bitterroot FWP fisheries biologist Chris Clancy retires By Michael Howell There aren’t many people, I’m sure, making regular use of the Bitterroot River whether recreating, outfitting or irrigating, who haven’t had the pleasure of dealing with FWP fisheries biologist Chris Clancy some way or the other over the last thirty years. But his career with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has finally come to an end. Although he is retiring, he won’t be hanging up the waders. But he may have to go back to angling like he did as a kid, instead of shocking fish in droves like he did for most of his career. Clancy was born in Havre, Montana. He attended two years of college at Northern Montana State University and another two years at MSU in Bozeman. He stayed on at MSU and got his master’s degree there as well and got his first job in Lewistown working for the Bureau of Land Management. Before a year was up, however, he took a job with FWP working on small streams in the Glendive area in the spring of 1978. After that
he spent two years on the Tongue River before going to work in Livingston on the upper Yellowstone River. From there he moved to the Bitterroot Valley in 1989 where he
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
has worked since. Clancy wasn’t the only one in his family to become an FWP See CLANCY, page 3
Chris Clancy has retired from a long and distinguished career as a fisheries biologist with Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
FWP biologist Chris Clancy and his brother Patrick Clancey are pictured here electro-fishing on Brackett Creek, northeast of Bozeman, in July 1987. They were collecting data for a genetic study of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the upper Yellowstone drainage. The photo was taken by Linda Best and accompanies a newspaper article titled “Cutthroat Study” written by Eric Wiltse and published in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on Thursday, July 2, 1987 in the Outdoors section.
The Bitterroot National Forest has released the Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/FONSI) for the Darby Lumber Lands Project - Phase 2. The documents are available for public review and objection. The vegetation management, fuels reduction, and transportation system project encompasses approximately 27,453 acres in the South Fork Sleeping Child and Rye Creek drainages in the Sapphire Mountains east of Darby. Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2016 and focused on improving watershed and stream health including reducing chronic sediment from an extensive road system built decades ago for timber management. It also created a sustainable motorized access system and loop-based motorized routes, including 44 miles of connector trails for motorcycle and ATV travel. Phase 2 is a continuation of the original project and also incorporates vegetation management activities. The selected alternative
would: • Improve watershed conditions through management of a suitable transportation system • Improve forest health and reduce potential fire severity • Provide timber products and related jobs The project proposes changes to access on existing roads and trails, storing and decommissioning unneeded roads and trails, building five new motorized connector trails and loop routes for ATV travel, and construction of several temporary roads. Proposed treatments include commercial timber harvests, noncommercial thinning, and prescribed burning to improve forest health. The draft DN/FONSI are available online at www.fs.usda. gov/project/?project=49700 and at the Darby Ranger District and Forest Supervisor’s Office in Hamilton. The draft decision is subject to public objection under Code of
Matt Anderson, District Ranger for the Craig and Thorne Bay Districts on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska, will take over as Supervisor on March 18th. “I am excited to welcome Matt to the Northern Region as the new Forest Supervisor on the Bitterroot National Forest,” said Regional Forester Leanne Marten. Matt brings with him a wealth of natural resource experience and a strong desire to work collaboratively with community members, local and state governments and tribes. His outstanding conservation background and service-oriented approach to the communities served by the Bitterroot makes Matt a wonderful addition to our team.” Anderson, who grew up in rural Iowa has been a district ranger in Alaska on the Tongass National Forest for six years. He also served in details as Forest Supervisor on the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah and Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Tongass. Prior to being a District
Ranger, Matt worked for the BLM as a field manager, associate field manager, and planner in Wyoming and Colorado. He started his natural resource career in a variety of seasonal positions with the BLM and Idaho Fish and Game including fighting fire, doing wildlife surveys, marking timber, and working in recreation. He has also worked on ranches, in construction, and commercial fishing. Matt graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s of Science and received a Masters of Public Administration from Colorado University at Denver. He was a very successful collegiate wrestler at Iowa, and was part of two national championship teams for the Hawkeyes. Another passion of Matt’s has been sled dog racing. He finished the famous thousand-mile Iditarod race across Alaska in 2007. Matt and his wife Blaire, who is an elementary school teacher, enjoy anything outdoors -- hunting, fishing, cycling, skateskiing, and hiking with their silver
Federal Regulations §218. Objections may only be filed by those who previously submitted comments on the project. All objections must be submitted to the Forest Service by April 10, 2019. Objections may be delivered or mailed to: USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, ATTN: Objection Reviewing Officer, 26 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, MT 59804. Electronic objections may be submitted to: appealsnorthern-regional-office@fs.fed. us. Faxed objections may be submitted to (406) 329-3411. Please specify “Darby Lumber Lands – Phase II Project Objection” in the subject line. Hand delivered objections must be delivered between 8am-4:30pm weekdays, excluding holidays. All objections are open to public inspection and will be posted to the Forest Service website. For additional information contact Eric Winthers, District Ranger, Darby/Sula Ranger District at (406) 821-3913.
New Forest Supervisor to take over this month
lab. They have a daughter Aleah and son Asher. “My family and I are thrilled to be moving to the Bitterroot,” Matt said. “Because of the communities, schools, and outdoor opportunities, it’s a place we have wanted to call home for a long time and where we’re excited to raise our kids. The people and communities remind Blaire and me of where we grew up in rural Iowa with the added benefit of mountains, forests, and rivers.” Anderson went on to say, “My experience has been when the agency and communities get aligned, a lot of work can get accomplished in managing the forest, improving forest health, and contributing to local jobs and the economy. I’m interested to hear from as many people as I can about what their interests are for their National Forest. I plan to be out and about listening to what insight folks have about the history of the Bitterroot and future of managing these lands and how we can best do that together.”
Matt Anderson will take over this month as the new Supervisor on the Bitterroot National Forest. He’s pictured here with wife Blaire, daughter Aleah, son Asher and the family’s lab.