This project was funded by a Capacity Support Grant from the MWCC Watershed Fund.
Project Description
The Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group brought stakeholders together to evaluate previously developed alternatives for eliminating up to 11 miles of redundant, riparian-adjacent roads in the lower 20 miles of the Thompson River watershed. Currently these two parallel road systems hug the banks on both sides of the river, contributing sediment, reducing riparian width and total floodplain area, increasing stream temperature, and negatively impacting riparian vegetation and habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species, including endangered Bull Trout. LCFWG and Trout Unlimited (TU) facilitated a series of meetings to discuss and revise alternatives with the major landowners, land managers and those with road jurisdiction in the Thompson basin, laying the groundwork for one of the alternatives to be accepted and implemented.
Multiple stakeholder meetings and correspondence have allowed us to review past efforts (including historical maps of consolidation ideas from the 1970s), identify key values associated with the Thompson River and roads systems/access in the drainage (from the assistance of both the road and landowner perspective and the natural resource perspective), and identify a range (in cost and scope) of project alternatives/opportunities along the Thompson River Road System. This funding has allowed us to apply for and receive grants to continue this project in the form of contracts for engineers, time for LCFWG and TU personnel, and continued development of stakeholder interests.
Project Outcomes and Impacts
LCFWG accomplished the following with Watershed Fund Capacity Support funding:
- Hosted two half-day stakeholder meetings: One with major landowners/land managers/road authorities, and one with natural resource agency personnel.
- Revised existing alternatives and co-developed 2 new alternatives that meet transportation and access needs. Lolo National Forest has contracted Great West Engineering to conduct a feasibility and cost analysis of these alternatives.
- Applied for two larger grants for subsequent work to develop alternatives and engage a broader audience of stakeholders.
- Additionally, TU and LCFWG are working with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to fund resource assessments of the Thompson River and road alternatives through thermal imaging and GIS analyses.
- 20 community partners engaged