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Missoula Parks and Recreation Department Mountain Pine Beetle Mitigation Plan 2010-2013: for Mt. Jumbo and select Urban Parklands Introduction: The city of Missoula owns roughly 3600 ac. of open space properties designated and managed as natural areas. While the majority of these properties are dominated by grasslands roughly 225ac. on Mt. Jumbo and in the Rattlesnake Greenway are covered by ponderosa pine forests. Additionally, 184ac. on Missoula's valley floor and in the Missoula's south hills contain stands of ponderosa pine. On Mt. Jumbo and in the Rattlesnake greenbelt, and to a lesser extent in Missoula's south hills, almost a century of fire prevention has produced a dense understory of young pine thickets. A fall 2009 inventory identified pockets of Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) across much of this acreage. It is the goal of the Missoula Parks and Recreation Department to proactively address MPB infestations and address forest health across all City-owned parks and open space. This proposal outlines a plan to inventory (255 ac.) and selectively thin (192.5 ac.) ponderosa pine forests across City of Missoula-owned parkland and open space. Missoula Parks Department requests $125,000 from the DNRC and will provide $125,128 in matching funds to complete this project. In-kind narrative and budget: Table 1 outlines all in-kind work to be completed over the next three years (2010- 2013) on City of Missoula Open Space and Parkland. Following detailed conversations with the local DNRC entomologist and forester, Missoula Park's staff spent much of the winter of 2009-2010 inventorying and removing MPB infested stands in parks and open space on Missoula's Valley floor and South Hills. As identification and removal of trees infested with MPB larvae before beetles emerge is essential for reducing spread of this insect; winter 2009-10 inventories and removals were deemed very important for the future success of this project. All work conducted between Mid-December 2009 and March 2010 is recorded as in-kind match in Table 1. PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT 100 HICKORY STREET MISSOULA, MT 59801 [PHONE REDACTED] FAX [PHONE REDACTED] Parks Operations Division ---PAGE BREAK--- Park's Department staff must still inventory 71 ac. of ponderosa pine forests on Mt. Jumbo. Slash from pines thinned by City staff and by the Montana Conservation Corps will be chipped and spread on site. A private donation from a homeowner in the Elk Ridge subdivision will pay for thinning on 9 ac. of Mt. Jumbo adjacent to her property. Due to the difficulty of accessing this site all slash will be piled and burned on site. Montana DNRC staff estimate spending roughly 3 weeks consulting City of Missoula staff throughout the term of this project. Missoula City Fire Department has matching funds available to purchase a new chipper for the city. In conjunction with this project this chipper will be used by City Fire to thin private property along the wildland urban interface and to process materials private landowners bring to annual events hosted by City Fire. All costs of operation and maintenance of city equipment (vehicles, chipper, backhoe and chainsaws) is included as in-kind match in Table 1. Our inventories of pine forests on city-owned natural areas and parklands on Missoula's Valley Floor and South Hills identified many large highly desirable Ponderosas. In areas where these "legacy" trees are threatened by adjacent MPB infested trees, pheromone packets will be utilized to protect the tree until we are able to address forest health on the parcel or beetle activity on adjacent private properties subside. Table 1, IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS: includes all cost for Park's labor, DNRC staff labor, volunteer labor, materials, equipment operation/maintenance, equipment purchase and cash in hand. Except for winter 2009-2010 inventories and thinning/removals, all work will be completed between March 2010 and March 2013. Acres Labor cost/ac. Equipment operation maintenance cost TOTAL Winter 2009-10 inventory 184 $15 $200 $2,960 Winter 2009-10 Thinning/Removals 20 $705 $4007 $18,107 Inventory to be complete by City of Msla. Staff 71 $15 $75 $1,140 Thinning to be completed by City of Msla. Staff 55 $705 $11,621 $50,396 Thinning volunteered by Mt. Conservation Corps 30 $334 $2405 $12,425 Private Donations for Thinning & Burning on Jumbo Saddle 9 $1333.33 $0 $12,000 DNRC Staff Salary for Consultations $3,600 Msla. City Fire Contribution for purchase of a new chipper $20,000 Purchase of Verbenone packets to protect Legacy trees $4,500 TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS: $125,128 ---PAGE BREAK--- Grant narrative and budget: All forest thinning described in Table 1 will be in areas which are easily accessible for vehicles and equipment. A significant portion of the thinning to be completed on Mt. Jumbo is on adverse terrain inaccessible to equipment. Eighty percent of the grant funds we are requesting for this project will be used for contracting private forestry crews to thin, pile and burn ponderosa pine on adverse terrain (Table With the recent closures of local mills that purchased and processed small diameter trees, disposal of waste from thinning projects has become a problem. The Missoula City Fire Department has secured $20,000 for the purchase of a community chipper for the Missoula Valley. Purchase of this chipper would allow the City of Missoula to aggressively address MPB infestations and wildfire danger within the wildland urban interface. We are requesting $20,000 in grant funds to purchase this chipper (Table The Missoula Parks Department is also requesting $2950 in supplies and materials to cover the cost of two chainsaws with personal protective equipment ($1450) and purchase of a limited number of Verbenone packets ($1500). Table 2, GRANT FUNDS: includes all cost for contracted labor, equipment purchase and supplies. Work will be completed between March 2010 and March 2013. Cost/ac. Acres treated TOTAL Contracted Labor $1,300 78.5 $102,050 1/2 cost of a new Chipper $20,000 Supplies & Materials $2,950 TOTAL GRANT REQUEST: $125,000 Conclusion: The extent to which MPB will affect ponderosa pine forests in Western Montana is yet to be determined. In the Missoula area surveys of local forests have identified an increase in MPB activity. Proactive treatments to reduce the impact of this pest and address forest health as a whole in the Missoula Valley are needed. The location of this project, on highly visible public lands within the Missoula Valley, will provide ample opportunities for public education and involvement and further community knowledge of MPB and responsible forest management.