by Jeff Lonn, Hamilton
Bitterroot National Forest (BNF) Supervisor Matt Anderson said in a 7-7-2026 Missoulian op-ed that the Bitterroot Front project is not about timber production, but with 43 square miles of commercial logging, that’s exactly what it’s about. In an invitation-only meeting with timber contractors, BNF said: “non-commercial will be lower priority than commercial work….dependent on funding.” Scientists agree that non-commercial work is the most important part of fuel reduction, not commercial logging of mature, fire-resistant trees.
Anderson said there will be no clearcuts, but the project allows “openings” without acreage limits. The 2016-18 BNF Westside project near Hamilton also created “openings”—the largest is 70 acres where only 5 trees per acre were left. It will be even worse on the Bitterroot Front project because BNF will not mark the trees; the loggers will decide which ones to take.
Anderson states there will be a net reduction of roads, but most of that reduction comes from roads that are already overgrown and impassible and were closed years ago. If actual work is needed to close and reclaim some, that work depends on “availability of resources.” Those resources were scarce on previous projects.
Anderson says the project is about protecting communities, but scientists have shown that home hardening and defensible space within the surrounding 120 feet are what works, not logging the wildlands.
Anderson says there were years of analysis, collaboration, and public involvement. But it’s a “condition-based” project with no site-specific analyses nor details on where or what “treatments” will occur. Condition-based management requires public trust, but have they earned it? USFS brought us unchecked old growth logging, rampant clearcutting, terraced mountainsides, aerial DDT spraying, full suppression of all fires, and thousands of miles of sediment-shedding roads along trout streams.
The project received an Emergency Declaration, enabling them to skip the normal public process. The public heard nothing between the 2023 DEA and the 2026 Decision, but timber contractors got lots of information in the 2025 invitation-only meeting, information still difficult for the public to find.
Recreation appears to be low priority: they will log and build roads through the Coyote Coulee trail, Como bike trails, Camas Lake trail, Fred Burr trailhead area, and Ben White horse trail.
One thing not mentioned is the cost to the taxpayer, probably many millions of dollars. BNF already paid a Colorado consultant $259,000 to write the project’s EA. This when BNF cannot afford to clear the trails, maintain the access roads, or provide sufficient law enforcement to protect forest values.
Anderson is probably just following the Executive Order to massively increase timber production. While that may be good for his career, it is terrible for BNF.
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