Kinnikinnick Chapter Of The Idaho Native Plant Society

March 18th, 2005

USFS - Sandpoint Ranger District
1500 Hwy 2, Suite 110
Sandpoint ID 83864
Via email: kevingdavis@fs.fed.us

Attention: Kevin G. Davis

Re: Upper Pack River Road Rehabilitation Project

We would like to thank you for the opportunity to submit comments regarding the Upper Pack River Road Rehabilitation Project. As members of the Kinnikinnick Chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society we advocate for the protection and preservation of native plants and their habitats. We believe that this project is very encouraging for habitat preservation and rehabilitation. And we support your proposed actions.

The Upper Pack River Rehabilitation Project helps address common problems associated with popular trailheads and destinations in our National Forests. Riparian ecosystems can be heavily impacted by vehicular traffic. Efforts to reduce damage from precipitation runoff and ORV use are important and necessary actions. Reducing and eliminating motorized vehicle access also reduces the spread of noxious weeds, which is especially critical within the streambed.

We suspect that the Upper Pack River and its tributaries are still recovering from the Sundance fires back in 1967. The sedimentation problems created by that event must have been enormous and are likely to continue to have a potentially strong negative impact on water quality and riparian habitat. The threat from OHV use only compounds this potential problem, especially illegal OHV use of the streambeds and banks. Reducing access is a strong and important first step towards rehabilitation. We suspect that those trees surviving within the drainage provide a low recruitment potential for stream stabilization. They need all the help they can get.

Trailheads and trail access into sensitive habitat can easily be abused. Removing bridges entirely, or replacing them with designs suitable only for pedestrian use helps establish natural barriers to illegal OHV use. Such actions can help stabilize soils, improve general plant habitat and help stem the spread of noxious weeds.

It is encouraging to note the intended use of native grasses in reseeding the restored roadbeds. We would like to encourage the use of native trees and shrubs as well. As always, we urge extreme caution be used to reduce the possible threat of introducing noxious weeds during the rehabilitation process. Our Conservation committee has recently been introduced to a local source of riparian vegetation being commercially propagated for this purpose. If this resource could be of value on this project, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

Molly O'Reilly President