Selway-Bitterroot Foundation

2010 Report for the Bitterroot National Forest
Hours:
Staff Hours: 570
Intern Hours: 500
Volunteer Hours: 559

Campsite Monitoring:
Campsites inventoried: 91
Outfitter Campsites Inspected: 11
Campfire rings removed: 91

Campfire ratings:
0: 25
1: 17
2: 15
3: 14
Trash Removed lbs: 100.6

Trail Work:
Downed Trees Removed:
0-6: 606
7-10: 391
11-24: 170
25-36: 20
36+: 1
b
Trail brushed (mi): 39.51
Trail rocked (mi): 39.51
Tread repair (ft): 137.5
Waterbars: 349

Restoration
Mortar: Part of Southern wall of St. Mary Lookout
Paint: Ceiling of St. Mary Lookout.
Switchback cut off: 200 feet on Blodgett Overlook

Signs
Inventoried: 34
Installed: 3 (Blodgett Overlook)

Individual Hitch Reports

May 14 — Blodgett Canyon Trail Brushing with Montana Wilderness Assn. (Blodgett Creek, BNF)

The Montana Wilderness Associations, age 30 and under service group, the Ridgerunners, met with SBF Wilderness Steward, Rachel Kaufman, to clear and brush the first 3.5 miles of Blodgett Canyon trail. The group focused on loping the young lodgepole pine and spruce trees that were crowding the trail corridor.
Comments: There is still regenerating trees in the first mile before and after the bridge at mile 3.5 that could be brushed.

May 19 — Wilderness Skills Trail (Bass Creek, BNF)
The SBF Lead Wilderness Stewards Rachel Kaufman and Eric Melson helped to teach 5th and 6th graders from around the Bitterroot Valley about public lands, wilderness and Leave No Trace ethics with the BNF at The Wilderness Skills Trail.

June 5 — National Trails Day: Rock Creek Trail Repair with Montana Wilderness Assn. (Lake Como, BNF)
The SBF staff and five interns partnered with the Bitterroot National Forest and the Montana Wilderness Association’s Ridge Runners as well as community volunteers for a day of hard work and celebration on one of the Bitterroot’s most popular trails. They completed part of an ongoing turnpike project by constructing over 90 feet of turnpike on the Rock Creek Trail along side Lake Como.

June 10 - Kootenai Creek trail clearing (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF staff and interns cleaned water bars and brushed 4 miles of the Kootenai Creek trail.
Comments: An old stove was found about 1.5 miles past the Wilderness boundary, left side of trail in an old Outfitter camp right before the creek. Large Pipo’s flat spt. Stove is behind big tree on the left.

July 6 to 11 — Indian Ridge to Watchtower Pass Trail Opening (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman, three interns and community volunteer, Anne Marie Scott opened nearly 30 miles of trail extending from Indian Creek Trailhead to Watchtower Pass on the state line.
Comments: The group left about 200 logs down in the area between Cooper Point and point where the trail leaves the eastern side of T29N R15E, Sec 20, NE quarter.

July 7 Baker and Gem Lake campsite clean up (Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Director Rob Mason and the Montana Wilderness Association’s Ridge Runners’ volunteers spent a day reducing and containing campsites as well as removing campfire rings.

July 12 Boulder Creek Brushing Campsite (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns brushed and cleared the first three miles of the Boulder Creek trail.

July 27-28 — Scimitar Ridge Trail Opening (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman joined BNF Wilderness Ranger Charlie Mabbott and his dynamic duo of mules, Reba and Lightening Bug to clean water bars and clear trail on Scimitar Ridge.

August 3-5 Bass Creek campsite inventory and cleanup (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns Ben Stein and Stephen Countryman inventoried and cleaned campsites at Bass Lake.

August 6 to 7 — St. Mary’s Lookout Maintenance (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF staff Rachel Kaufman and Rob Mason joined BNF Wilderness Ranger Bill Goslin, Stevensville District Ranger Dan Ritter and BNF Historian Mary Williams to discuss repairs and restoration needs for the lookout. The group painted the ceiling to match the lookout’s historic color scheme and mortared portions of the structure’s fragile foundation.
Comments: The mortar work is not nearly finished. The western wall is complete as is about 1/3 of the southern wall. The eastern and northern wall need to be completed. The interior of the lookout needs a lot of work as well. The walls need to be repainted, the furniture repaired or restored and the stove polished. Most of these latter observations were made my Mary Williams.

August 8-9 –Kootenai Creek campsite inventory and cleaning (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns Ben Stein and Stephen Countryman inventoried and cleaned campsites at Kootenai Lakes.

August 8-10 — Kerlee Lake Campsite restoration and inventory (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman inventoried and restored campsites along the Tin Cup Trail and at Goat and Kerlee Lakes.

August 10-11 — Little Rock Creek campsite restoration and inventory (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman inventoried and restored campsites along the Little Rock Creek trail and at Little Rock Creek Lake.

August 18-20 Chaffin Lakes campsite inventory and cleanup (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns Ben Stein and Stephen Countryman inventoried and cleaned campsites at Chaffin Lakes. .

August 16-19 --- Indian Creek trail clearing (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns Drew Wenderborn and Bart Gutke cleared trail 36 to Shoefield Creek.

August 15 to 21 — Blodgett Projects w/ Sierra Club & Bitter Root BCH (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
In one of the SBF’s first weeklong collaborative stewardship projects, Sierra Club volunteers, Bitter Root Back Country Horsemen and Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman, successfully completed the opening of Blodgett Creek trail from mile 7 to Blodgett Lake and to Blodgett Pass.
Comments: The trail through 7, 9 and 10 mile meadow is very deeply trenched or braided. It would be a good week long volunteer project for a large group in the future.
Blodgett Pass trail was littered with large boulders by a spring avalanche. Detailed pictures and notes were given to Nick Hazelbaker and Bill Goslin.
Two old stoves were found at mile 7 camp. This information was given to Bill Goslin.

August 22-24 Little Clearwater trail clearing (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF interns Ben Stein and Stephen Countryman cleared the beginning of the Little Clearwater trail.

August 22 – Sawtooth Creek Campsite inventories (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF intern Drew Wenderborn inventoried and cleaned campsites up Sawtooth Creek.

August 23-24 – Canyon Creek Campsite inventories (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF intern Drew Wenderborn inventoried and cleaned campsites up Canyon Creek.

September 10-12 — One Horse Lakes Trail Opening with the Montana Wilderness Association Ridgerunners (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF staff Rachel Kaufman and Rob Mason joined MWA Ridgerunners’ volunteers to open the One Horse Lakes trail. The group also cleaned up campsites at Carlton Lake.
Comments: There are well over 500 trees down from Little Carlton Lake to South One Horse Lake. This may be a good place to send interns in 2011 for an 8 day hitch.

September 14 —Two Buck Springs Campsite Inspection (Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman joined BNF’s Marty Almquist to inspect Two Buck Springs Outfitter Camp in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

September 20-22 — Eakin Ridge and Harrington Ridge Campsite Inspection (Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman inspected Eakin, Mormon and Harrington Ridge outfitter campsites in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

September 28-29 — Salmon River Campsite Inspection (Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, BNF)
Lead Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman inspected Elkhorn and Snake Creek outfitter campsites in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

October 2 — Blodgett Overlook trail restoration with Montana Wilderness Association (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman and Montana Wildereness Association Ridgerunners’ volunteers closed off environmentally detrimental switchback cutoffs with educational signs, pulaskis, shovels and good clean muscle power.
Comments: There is more restoration work to be done on this trail as well as brushing and tread work. This may be a good day project. Also, there are three sign posts installed within the first .5 mile with temporary restoration signs on them. Nick Hazelbaker commented that he would have Dave Lucas make more permanent wooden signs for these posts.

October 13-14 —Storm Ridge Campsite Inspection and waterbar maintenance
(Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)

Steward Rachel Kaufman joined BNF employees to clean waterbars and inspect the Florida and Storm Creek Outfitter campsites in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

October 15 —Camus Lake Campsite Inventory and Restoration ( Camus Lake, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman inventoried and cleaned campsites at Camas Lake.

October 18-19 — Blue Hole and Shoefield Campsite Inspection (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBF Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman and volunteer Stacey Miller inspected Blue Hole and Lower Schoefield Outfitter campsites.
Comments: Several trees have fallen down on Scimatar Ridge since it was cleared earlier this summer. The first one is about 35-40” in diameter. The outfitter trail along Schoefield Creek also has about 10 trees down that are causing reroutes. Some of the reroutes are old and well established.

October 21-22 — Boulder Creek Campsite Inspection and Reconnaissance (Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, BNF)
SBW Wilderness Steward Rachel Kaufman and volunteer Stacey Miller inventoried campsites along Boulder Creek, at Pickle’s Puddle and at Boulder Lake. The duo also located and documented two trash caches left by careless hunters around Pickle’s Puddle.
Comments: Details of the caches were given to Amanda. The Boulder Creek trail has had three trees fall since it was cleared earlier this summer. All should be passable to stock but are creating detours nonetheless.