Clearwater Basin Project Is Nominated for National Funding
A proposal from the Clearwater Basin Collaborative has cleared the first hurdle. The project would bring up to $4 million per year for restoration work in the Lower Selway and Middle Fork Clearwater watersheds.
A local effort to find common ground on forest management issues moved into the big time Friday, with the announcement it could receive up to $40 million in federal funding over the next decade.
The Clearwater Basin Collaborative, which formed two years ago, learned this week a 1.4 million acre restoration proposal it recently developed has been nominated for national funding under the Forest Landscape Restoration Act.
The proposal still has a number of hurdles to clear before the money is in the bank. However, if it makes the final cut, the collaborative could begin work on a wide range of restoration projects in the Selway-North Fork Clearwater River drainage.
The projects include forest thinning, prescribed burns, invasive weed treatment, fuels reduction, wildlife and stream habitat improvement, and road drainage improvements and/or road decommissioning. It's estimated as many as 380 full- and part-time jobs could be created.
