Reforesting the forest…
The fires of 1910 and 1929 led to the growth of large stands of lodge pole pine throughout Idaho and Montana. This monoculture was susceptible to diseases. Millions of acres of forests, including those surrounding Blanchard Creek became infested with mountain pine beetle. In 2003, Marvin arranged for his land to be logged in advance of total destruction by the beetles. The beetles have devastated many beautiful areas of the ranch, the forests, along the creeks, and around the original log houses, barn and work areas.
This pine beetle infestation has meant that there are actually not that many trees on our 80 acres. The photos below show how the land looked in 2008 — 5 years after it was logged in an attempt to control the pine beetle infestation. Almost all of the trees still standing in these photos are Larch.
Being amateurs at managing forest and meadow lands, Audrey and John sought to learn from others – experienced family members, professionals, the web, and acquaintances. John met Norm, our local DNRC Forester while playing tennis. Norm offered to visit the land and give us some advice on caring for the remaining forest. This eventually led to getting the land registered as a Certified Family Forest. In 2010, we attended a 3 day class in Bozeman, inventoried the land, and created a management plan for our 80 acres. The inventory showed there to be few new seedlings since the logging. Completion of the Tree Farm Plan and inspection by local forester let to our certification . Despite all our efforts, the beetles are continuing to infest and kill our lodge pole pine trees. Therefore, we decided to log the eastern section of our land the winter of 2010–11.
Increasingly vested in this project, Audrey and John continued to be busy. In May, 2011, they planted 200 larch seedlings on the hill above the cabin. They also planted almost a hundred native shrubs — chokecherry, serviceberry, Wood’s rose, and dogwood — along the road, in the Nature Area, and along Audrey’s creek. Larch trees were chosen for reforestation of the land for several reasons; they are native to the area, make great timber, are resistant to infestation by insects and are fire resistant.
Do we have a photo of the Larch forest (below)?
Photo of Larch forest on the left is taken at the centuries old forest on the western shores of Seeley Lake. The world’s largest larch grows there.
Having the Tree Farm Plan allowed us to apply for conservation funds from the Missoula County Conservation District. Those funds were used in 2011 to build fences which will protect the larch seedlings from cattle, and spray noxious weeds. The fencing increased the size of the nature area and allowed for partial removal of an old rusty fence. The new fencing also keeps cattle off the cabin porch and out of the parking area. It created a boundry fence – a barrier between hundreds of strangers’ cattle and our land. These other cattle liked to come to our land because it had more water than the higher mountains. The area we fenced off had been a thicket of tall, skinny, close together lodge pole pine for decades and provided little grazing for cattle. This one was an easy decision.
Audrey and John obtained all their trees and shrubs from the Montana Department of Natural Resources Nursery on Spurgin road. Nursery staff, the web, and Judy provided guidance in planting their seedlings. The root ball was about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. The seedlings were about 18 inches tall.
To plant each seedling, they first selected a site, cleared vegetation from a 3×3 foot area, used a dibble to make a long narrow opening, put in a little top soil and water, placed the root ball in, added a mixture of native and top soil, added more water, removed bubbles, tapped down the soil, and gave the seedling more water. Then they placed mesh tubing around seedling to discourage browsing by deer and elk. The final steps were to place a 3×3 foot weed barrier around the plant, weigh it down with rocks and wood, and create a little shade for the seedling using nearby down wood. The weed barrier discourages completion by other vegetation for water, helps hold water in the ground, and keeps the roots warm. They had done an experiment the previous summer with 4 two gallon trees they purchased from a nursery. The 2 trees having weed barrier fabric were definitely growing better the next year. The whole project turned out to be more physically difficult than expected. Audrey and John were very appreciative that Greg, a friend from Santa Cruz, helped them out.