HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-26-21 Public Comment - P. Knight - BMW ProjectFrom:Phil Knight
To:Agenda; John Meyer; George Wuerthner
Subject:Please do not support the Bozeman Watershed project
Date:Monday, July 26, 2021 11:15:14 AM
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Dear Bozeman City Commission,
Please do not support the Bozeman Watershed Project. Logging lands in BozemanCreek, Leverich Canyon, Kirk Hill and Hyalite Canyon is a mistake predicated on the
false claim that the logging will protect Bozeman’s water supply.
Did you know the Forest Service plans to build new roads into the forest above MSU's
Kirk Hill Nature Trail? There is a wonderful loop trail on national forest above the MSU
Kirk Hill trail that will be ruined by the road and much of the beautiful old growth
Douglas Fir forest there will be cut down. This trail is very popular with local residents
who go there to run, hike, walk their dogs, and enjoy the peaceful forest.
2,325 people have signed my petition on Change.org to Custer Gallatin National
Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson in support of leaving Kirk Hill ridge unlogged.
https://www.change.org/p/mary-erickson-supervisor-custer-gallatin-national-forest-
don-t-log-kirk-hill?source_location=topic_page&fbclid=IwAR2SS-
thdzMImHu1BV1KWAHW37Sfuptl5s6uAq2B-fuMrc57X_slbx4UlB4
On the ridge between Bozeman Creek and Leverich Canyon the city plans to build 7
miles of new roads to haul out the trees they plan to cut down. Roads are a major
impact on wildlife and are a guaranteed source of silt into our water. The City also
plans to log intact old growth forest on steep slopes above the intake for city water in
Bozeman Creek.
The Forest Service also plans to cut a lot of the old growth forest along the popular
Leverich Canyon trail - one of the best mountain biking trails in the Bozeman area.
The city and the Forest Service would have you believe that all this logging and road
building will prevent forest fires and preserve the city watershed. But the most likelyforest fire scenario - extreme weather coupled with drought and wind - would burn the
Hyalite and Bozeman Creek watershed regardless of the planned logging. In fact
removing large old fire resistant trees could make the fire move faster and farther. Nor
will this project protect homes in the Wildland Urban Interface. Home protection and“hardening” of the landscape should occur within 100-200 feet of homes to be most
effective. Most of the planned logging will be a mile or more from any homes.
The infamous Bootleg Fire currently burning in Oregon has burned through mostly
heavily logged and grazed land without stopping or even slowing down.https://kval.com/news/local/environmental-group-76-of-land-inside-bootleg-fire-
previously-logged-grazed?
fbclid=IwAR0XduSffTEUBmlGZWuda9U3JW_wBagjQCbzfpYh8Op-
1ZsAcrMRi1M5RxQ
For a full look at the fallacies driving the Bozeman Watershed Project please read this
article by George Wuerthner. http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2021/04/07/bozeman-
watershed-project-based-on-flawed-assumptions/?
fbclid=IwAR1GiO6gM9sSk7dFzaeaSh699L69X1aZIcUM9SY3TMLzv8VzufeHj9zO5b0
Thank you for not supporting this flawed project.
Phil Knight
Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance