Rangers update county on projects

Local district rangers provided Sanders County Commissioners an update of the Plains/Thompson Falls and Cabinet districts last week.

Former Thompson Falls resident Dan Castillo is back in the area with the Forest Service, serving as interim ranger for the Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District until a new ranger is hired. Previous District Ranger David Wrobleski accepted a new position within the agency.

Castillo has worked for the Forest Service for 25 years, with the last nine as a timber contracting officer for the Lolo National Forest. Castillo volunteered for the interim ranger position because he thought it would be a good challenge. While he is not interested in the permanent position, he said he is looking forward to working with the public more here. He said his dad worked as a district ranger and he is looking forward to this post.

Castillo updated the commissioners on the recreation season, noting that several campgrounds and restrooms at trailheads will close this month. He also stated that the River Road East fire is 100% contained and that there are no active fires in the Plains/Thompson Falls district at this time.

On Tuesday, October 17, the district will hold a public meeting at Thompson Falls Elementary school. The meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m., will be a chance for the public to provide input on the area known as the Orchard, which connects to the mule pasture trail system. Castillo said there is no plan for the area at this point, but they are looking for public input and ideas.

Castillo also updated the commissioners on projects throughout the district, noting that gravel has been placed on the Thompson River and ACM roads and that final blading will occur in the spring. Also, the Graves Creek bridge replacement project was awarded to Stone Ridge Construction. The metal bridge will be installed in 2024. A temporary bridge was placed after the Thorne Creek fire destroyed the original bridge in 2021.

In the Cabinet Ranger District, Ranger Michael Feiger reported that there were more than 400 incidents during fire season on the Kootenai National Forest as a whole, and over 80% of those were human caused. “That’s a trend the last few years that is concerning,” he noted. In the Cabinet district, there were 10 fires reported, and five of those were natural starts. “We’re definitely seeing the consequences of increased public visitation,” he said, but noted that otherwise it was a quiet fire season in the district.

Feiger said that lookouts in the district will be open through mid-October and that there was heavy use of the sites this year with people finding it difficult to get reservations. Feiger noted that a YCC trails crew this year gave the district a chance to get more and higher quality work done beyond triage to high levels of repair and maintenance. The crew included kids from Thompson Falls to Clark Fork, Idaho.

The Kootenai National Forest also continues oversnowmotor vehicle use planning. While the final proposed action is complete, Feiger said implementation could be in January 2025.