SPECIAL EVENTS

Timber Tour - Friday, October 10, 2008

On a cold and snowy day in October, this year’s participants got the opportunity to experience the changes that have been occurring at the Garnet Ghost Town.  Nearly all of the Lodgepole Pine trees in the area have been killed by an infestation of Mountain Pine Beetles.  The increase in dead trees has greatly increased the danger of wildfires in this area.  So the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Pyramid Mountain Lumber Company have been working to remove up to 60 percent of the standing trees.  

Shelagh Fox, a Fire Ecologist with the Bureau of Land Management, explained that the only thing that saved the Ghost Town from tragedy during the Packer Gulch Fire of 2006, was a shift in the wind. 

Gordy Sanders with Pyramid Mountain Lumber and logger Charlie Parkes shared that every part of every dead tree will be utilized including the sawdust.

The group also heard from Chris Bryant with the Nature Conservancy about the Montana Legacy Project, which is working to preserve this wild, working landscape for current and future generations.

Bob Brown with the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula talked to the group about Garnet’s Historic Significance.

We ended the evening with a wonderful dinner at the Lubrecht Forest.

Thank you to the following sponsors:  Plum Creek, Smurfit-Stone and Roseburg.  Also a big thank you to our wonderful bus driver. Hope to see you next year!!!!!

For more information on the program or sponsorship opportunities for 2009 please contact:
Kathy Giffin at kathy@missoulachamber.com