BRETT FRENCH
A cross-boundary forestry project on Red Lodge Mountain has been awarded a state grant. It s one of 14 projects given a portion of $4.5 million under the Montana Forest Action Plan.
The work at the Carbon County ski area will begin this summer and overlap to adjacent Gallatin Custer National Forest land as well as the nearby Palisades Ranch â all told about 1,000 acres, according to Jeff Schmidt, Red Lodge Mountain manager.
âThe bulk of it will be on our property, the upper Palisades and from mid-mountain down,â he said.
In addition to the state funding of almost $485,000, Schmidt said the ski area will sell any marketable timber removed to help pay for the work. Slash thatâs left over will be utilized for the ski areaâs biomass wood heater for the main lodge. The heater project still needs funding to be completed by the end of 2022 to qualify for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, he added.