The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest has prepared a final environmental assessment for the Whitetail-State Creek Project. The project is located 15 miles north of Whitehall, Montana and 5 miles southwest of Boulder, Montana in Jefferson County. Inside the Boulder Mountains, the project lies within the Jefferson and Boulder Watershed Basins, including watersheds such as the Little Boulder River, Little Whitetail Creek, and State Creek.
The project proposes management activities to address the following resource objectives:
- Address forest conditions within the project area that have significantly deteriorated from desired ecological states due to insect and disease activity and conifer encroachment into historically open forest and aspen communities;
- Enhance forest pest resistance and overall ecosystem resilience;
- Restore the health and vitality of both aspen communities and developing conifer stands;
- Create opportunities for sustainable forest product extraction; and
- Respond to Presidential Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and the Emergency Situation Determination on National Forest System lands to control insects and disease and mitigate threats to natural resources on these lands.
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Emergency Action Determination’s direction (EO 14225), we have prepared this environmental assessment to determine whether the proposed action has the potential to cause significant environmental effects. By providing this environmental assessment available to the public on a USDA website (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r01/beaverhead-deerlodge/projects/68735), we are fulfilling agency policy and direction, per 7 CFR §1b.5(f).
Specific written comments on the final environmental assessment will be accepted for 7 calendar days beginning today, September 22, 2025, which is the publication date of the EA and accompanying documents to the project website.
Acting Forest Supervisor, Corey Lewellen has approved using the Emergency Action Determination for the Whitetail-State Creek Project on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (BNDF). This project will not be subject to the pre-decisional objection review process (36 CFR§218).
