HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-23-18 City Commission Packet Materials - A1. Fire Subaward Grant Agreement with DNRC for Fuels Management
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Brian Heaston, Senior Engineer
Craig Woolard, Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Special State Fire Assistance Subaward Agreement for the Sourdough Creek
Municipal Watershed Fuels Management Project.
MEETING DATE: April 23, 2018
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action
RECOMMENDED MOTION: I move to authorize the City Manager to sign the Special State
Fire Assistance Subaward Agreement with the DNRC for the Sourdough Creek Municipal
Watershed Fuels Management Project.
BACKGROUND: Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has awarded
the City of Bozeman $270,000 through the Special State Fire Assistance program to conduct
fuels management activities on City-owned land in the Sourdough Creek municipal watershed.
The grant agreement is attached to this memo. The key outcome of the project is completion of fuels mitigation on 300-400 acres of critical lands in the lower reaches of the Sourdough
municipal watershed surrounding the Sourdough water supply intake. The Sourdough Creek
water source accounts for 40% of the annual water supply of the City and is susceptible to
wildfire, which could severely impact water quality and place crucial water supply infrastructure
at risk.
Fuel reduction treatment objectives aim to decrease existing timber stand densities by up to 50%
volume depending on stand conditions and forest type. Specific treatments are identified in the
City’s Forest Management Plan completed by Peck Forestry, Inc. in 2010. Merchant timber will
be cut and harvested utilizing helicopter techniques. No new roads are anticipated to be constructed on City land in the municipal watershed.
The grant will fund expenses related to fuels management activities on a reimbursement basis.
These expenses will include fuel reduction activities themselves, as well as expenses related to
technical forestry services and public relations. Given the specialized field of work, the City will procure the technical services of a professional forester to administer the timber project pursuant
to the requirements in the grant agreement. Procurement of professional public relations services
will also occur as PR is an element necessary for the smooth progression of public
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outreach/education elements necessary for a successful project. A letter supporting project
communications and outreach is attached from The Gallatin Valley Land Trust.
The City intends to implement the fuels management project in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service Bozeman Municipal Watershed (BMW) Project (see attached project brief by U.S.
Forest Service for more information on the BMW). The BMW has been a work in progress for
the better part of the last decade and is now nearing readiness for implementation. The goals and
objectives of the BMW align with those of the City’s fuel management efforts. The BMW
encompasses an area of 4,700 acres spanning the lower reaches of both Hyalite and Sourdough municipal watersheds. Implementing the City’s project jointly with the BMW reduces the
overall impacts to the public.
The BMW was litigated in 2011, but is now nearing readiness for implementation. The USFS
anticipates BMW on-the-ground work to begin in 2020 and expects to have confirmation of this implementation date within the next 12 months, pending a successful final ruling on the project
from the Federal District Court of Montana.
Should the court approve the BMW for implementation, the City and USFS intend to work
jointly to implement the two projects in conjunction with each other. In the event that the court denies the USFS from implementing the BMW, the City will move forward singularly with
implementation of its own fuels management project to treat fuels on 300-400 acres of City land
proximate to the Sourdough water supply intake. If the City moves forward alone, it is
anticipated that on-the-ground activities work would begin Fall 2019. The City Commission
should understand that by accepting the Special State Fire Assistance Subaward it is committing the City to implementing the fuels management project regardless of the outcome of the BMW
with the court.
FISCAL EFFECTS: The grant provides $270,000 in reimbursable money to the City. The
City is required to cash flow project expenses. Actual project cost is not known at this time as it is a function of market pricing for the timber work and log prices when contracts are let. It is
expected, however, that the project will operate at a net cost as overall revenues are not
anticipated to exceed expenses. The approved FY19 Water Fund CIP contains $400,000 in
funding for the project W63 – Sourdough Watershed Fuel Reduction. This CIP project contains
sufficient budget to cash flow the project, and can cover any implementation costs in excess of those allocable to the grant.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the Commission
ATTACHMENTS: Special State Fire Assistance Subaward Agreement Letter from GVLT
BMW Project Brief
Report compiled on: April 12, 2018
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• P. O. Box 7021 • Bozeman, MT 59771 • • 406-587-8404 • Fax 406-582-1136 • www.gvlt.org • info@gvlt.org •
April 10, 2018
Brian Heaston
City of Bozeman: Public Works
PO Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771-1230
RE: Sourdough Creek Municipal Watershed Forest Management
Dear Mr. Heaston,
The City of Bozeman (COB) recently reached out to Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT) to seek our
support of a forest management project located in the Sourdough Creek municipal watershed; a
watershed that currently provides 40% of COB’s water supply. GVLT and COB have a long and
successful history of working together to provide a vibrant and safe community for city and county
residents as well as our many visitors. I would like to take a minute to describe how GVLT is willing
to provide limited outreach and communication support in partnership with COB to the general
public to ensure trail user safety throughout the project’s implementation.
GVLT applauds the City in their efforts to steward this precious resource to ensure a stable
municipal water supply for Bozeman while simultaneously benefiting fish and wildlife habitat,
reducing wildfire potential, and providing a safe and enjoyable experience for year-round
recreational users. All of these goals are paramount to proper timber management and respect the
immense value that local residents glean from a well-managed forest.
Since 1990, GVLT has partnered with the City of Bozeman, Gallatin County, Custer Gallatin
National Forest and dozens of other organizations to create over 80 miles of trails in the Main Street
to the Mountains trail system in and around Bozeman. Our work is based in watershed principles and
our partnership with COB and others has been critical to our collective success to conserve
community values. GVLT’s efforts to re-develop Sourdough Canyon Trailhead in 2009-2013
catapulted this resource into one of the most heavily used trailheads in our region. We encourage
COB to respect the connection to place that the public has developed at Sourdough and celebrate
their stewardship of this resource while ensuring that there will be no loss of opportunity by the
public when the project is successfully complete.
GVLT is willing to lend our assistance to COB as it prepares messaging about safety and
recreational use while the timber management project is active in the watershed. GVLT has a robust
list of followers on social media and we have a long list of supporters and trail users who frequently
receive emails from GVLT relevant to our work, trail safety concerns, and trail etiquette when
conditions are unsafe or inappropriate for trail use. GVLT has also sponsored and continues to staff
the “Trail Ambassador” program that helps us reach the general public “on the ground/trail” to
encourage safe and proper trail use. We are glad to provide this level of service to COB as it
implements watershed enhancements in Sourdough Canyon, and hope your staff to be in touch with
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•P. O. Box 7021 • Bozeman, MT 59771 • • 406-587-8404 • Fax 406-582-1136 • www.gvlt.org • info@gvlt.org •
GVLT early and often to ensure efficient communication in preparation for trail closures that may
need to be implemented in the course of the project.
Thank you for reaching out to GVLT early in the planning process for this project. We are glad to
support outreach and communication efforts relevant to trail safety when the Sourdough Creek
Municipal Watershed Forest Management project is active and trail user safety is of concern.
Sincerely,
Penelope Pierce
Executive Director
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Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project (April 2018)
The Gallatin National Forest conducted a landscape assessment in 2004 involving 130,000 acres in the
Sourdough/Hyalite Creek drainages, which are part of the Bozeman municipal watershed. The assessment looked at
risks for wildland fire and identified trends for noxious weeds, fish and wildlife, watershed, and forest health. Two
additional studies were conducted in the municipal watershed by local governments. One was a water source
protection study, done for the City of Bozeman, and the second was done by the Bozeman Watershed Council for
Gallatin County. Both studies identified fuels treatment as a high priority for the protection of the watershed.
The Forest Service and the City of Bozeman signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2005 to establish a framework
for cooperation between the parties to maintain (in the long term) a high quality, predictable water supply for Bozeman
through cooperative efforts in part by implementing sustainable land management practices.
Based upon the outcome of the assessments, the Bozeman Municipal Watershed Project was identified. The
preliminary goal and objectives for the project include:
Goal ‐ Maintain (in the long term) a high‐quality, predictable water supply for Bozeman through cooperative
efforts with the City of Bozeman in implementing sustainable land management practices.
Objectives
Implement vegetation management projects that will begin to reduce the severity and extent of
wildland fires in the Bozeman and Hyalite Municipal Watersheds.
Focus on treatments that will begin to reduce the risk of excess sediment and ash reaching the
municipal water treatment plant in the event of a severe wildland fire.
Provide for firefighter and public safety by beginning to modify potential fire behavior.
Reduce fuels in the wildland/urban interface (WUI) to reduce potential fire spread and intensity
between National Forest System lands and adjacent private lands.
The Decision (11/2011) on National Forest lands authorized approximately 4,700 acres of fuels treatments including
thinning, cutting and removing fuels by hand, timber harvest, and prescribed burns. Six alternatives were evaluated in
the FEIS and SFEIS. The alternatives presented a range of alternatives that address the key issues considered during the
analysis process. In the initial scoping period, approximately 9,000 acres were identified for potential treatment.
Court review
The BMW project was litigated in 2011. The Montana District Court affirmed the Forest Service Decision and analysis for
BMW on all counts except that the project relied on a faulty Biological Opinion from the USFWS related to lynx critical
habitat at the programmatic scale. As a result, the BMW project was linked to the ongoing “Salix” court case. The
Agencies (Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service) appealed the District court decision related to critical lynx habitat
designation, as well as the BMW decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The legal process for “Salix” concluded
in 2016. In order to remedy the critical habitat designation consultation process, the agencies are reconsulting.
Implementation is planned to start in 2020, in conjunction with the City of Bozeman.
Please contact Corey Lewellen, Bozeman District Ranger, for more information 406‐522‐2531. To review the Bozeman
Municipal Watershed Project Record of Decision, Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Final EIS
go to the following website:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=9111
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