Castle Mountains Restoration Project

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A Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership Project.
Project duration: 2020-2022

The Castle Mountains Restoration Project encompasses more than 200,000 acres in central Montana. The area has experienced high tree mortality from mountain pine beetles, spruce budworm, and other tree insects and diseases which has resulted in direct hazards to the public and infrastructure, including the delivery systems for the municipal water supply of White Sulphur Springs. Proposed treatments include removal of the excessive fuel load, thinning existing young tree stands to allow them to grow to be healthy trees, restoration of native grasslands by removing encroaching conifer, and non-native invasive plant treatment.

Benefits

This project will maintain and restore landscapes across the mountain range to achieve desired vegetative conditions while reducing hazardous fuels, mitigate wildfire threats to landowners and maintain water quality and supply from the Willow Creek Watershed for the community of White Sulphur Springs, MT.

Partners

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Forest Service as well as other Federal, state, county, and local entities:

• City of White Sulphur Spring
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
• Meagher County Conservation District

Application

Applications are accepted on a continual basis, however, NRCS establishes application ranking dates for evaluation, ranking and approval of eligible applications. The ranking date for the current ranking period may have passed; please contact your local office.

Applicable Conservation Practices

• Brush Management (314)
• Pre-Commercial Thinning (666B)
• Forage and Biomass Planting (512)
• Fuel Break (383)
• Herbaceous Weed Control (315)
• Woody Residue Treatment (384)

Detailed descriptions of these conservation practices can be found in the Field Office Technical Guide.

Payment Rates

Montana Payment Schedules

Montana is committed to reaching out to Historically Underserved individuals and groups. Historically Underserved participants may also receive higher payment rates in addition to being considered in high priority funding pools. Historically Underserved rates are listed as HU in the Practice Payment Schedule. See the Small & Limited and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers page for the NRCS definition of the Historically Underserved.

Ranking Criteria

NRCS uses the Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) for all application assessment and ranking. Learn more about CART.

Local Ranking Questions:

1. How far is the proposed project from a public road?
   1. Adjacent
   2. Not adjacent but less than ¼ mile
   3. ¼ mile or greater
2. Will forage production for wildlife and livestock be improved on lands that are currently grazed.
3. Does the application have a home site on the property, and will the defensibility of that site be improved by the treatment?
   1. Directly adjacent
   2. less than 1/4 mile
4. Is the project adjacent to a planned forest service treatment, according to the Castle Mountain Restoration Project Map.
   1. Directly adjacent
   2. Less than 1 mile
   3. Greater than a mile
5. Does the application include practices that reduce hazardous wildfire fuels on land adjoining current or recently completed (within last 10 years) wildfire fuel reduction projects?
   1. Adjoins previous project
   2. Not adjoining but less than 1 mile from previous projects
6. Project will address which forest health issues: Spruce budworm, mountain pine beetle, fuel quantity, Aspen improvement, forage quantity
   1. The project addresses 5 of the forest health issues
   2. The project addresses 4 of the forest health issues
   3. The project addresses 3 of the forest health issues
   4. The project addresses 2 of the forest health issues