city of helena

City of HelenaResponse to objections on the Forest Service

Red Mountain Flume/Chessman Reservoir project

www.helenamt.gov

You can help! Here’s how:

And ask these organizations to please withdraw their objections:Steve Kelly, Executive DirectorMontana Ecosystems Defense CouncilP.O. Box 4641Bozeman, MT 59772Tel: (406) 586-4421

Sara JohnsonNative Ecosystems CouncilP.O. Box 125Willow Creek, MT 59760

Helena National ForestHeather DeGeest, District RangerFAX: 406-449-5740comments-northern-helena-helena@fs.fed.us Write “Flume Chessman” in the subject line

Tell the Forest Service & your community that you support the Red Mountain Flume/Chessman Reservoir project:

Questions? Go to http://www.helenamt.gov/tmcwp.html

or contact Sarah Elkins 406-447-8401, selkins@helenamt.gov

Helena Independent RecordFAX: 447-4052irstaff@helenair.com Readers' Alley P.O. Box 4249 Helena, MT 59604

“The last thing you want to do in a healthy watershed is clearcut 490 acres and build new logging roads,” Steve Kelly, director of Montana Ecosystems Defense Council, said in a press release. “... Clearcutting Helena’s currently stable watershed to prevent the infinitesimally small, theoretical risk of sedimentation makes no sense either.” (italics and bold added)

Objection language (Helena IR)http://helenair.com/news/local/environmental-groups-object-to-logging-project-near-city-water-source/article_38bc9186-2d7c-11e3-b2b1-0019bb2963f4.html

Red Mountain Flume/Chessman Reservoir Project

• 490 acres of treatment out of 128,000 acres (200 square miles*) of the watershed – less than ½ of 1 percent of the total watershed area

• Temporary ½ mile road, plus close & reclaim ½ mile of existing road

• Not a “theoretical” risk, recent incidents show dramatic examples of sedimentation following intense wildfire

• Not a healthy, stable watershed*http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2001/0059/report.pdf

ArizonaArizona: Getting Out in Front of Wildfirehttp://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/arizona/getting-out-in-front-of-wildfire.xml

Fire in a “restored” forest generally mimics natural conditions, keeping to the forest floor, regenerating the understory, and benefitting the forest and the wildlife habitat it provides.

“Only with proactive management can we get ahead of the catastrophic wildfire curve.”

-Sue Sitko, Northern Arizona Conservation Manager

Cheesman Reservoir after the Hayman firePhoto courtesy of Denver Water

Colorado, Denver’s Cheesman Reservoir

Colorado Cheesman Reservoir: This photo was taken after the Hayman Fire. It illustrates the benefits of forest treatment.Photo courtesy of Denver Water

Denver, Colorado vs Helena, Montana

Helena’s Chessman Reservoir: This photo was taken late 2012. We have an estimated 90% mortality in the area. – NOT STABLE

Red Mountain area, Montana

Untreated Forest Service property

Treated private propertyPhoto courtesy of USFS Helena National Forest

Red Mountain area, Montana

Untreated Forest Service property Treated city propertyPhoto courtesy of USFS Helena National Forest

Red Mountain area, Montana

Untreated section of the flume, Forest Service propertyPhoto courtesy of USFS Helena National Forest

Treated section of the flume,city property

Red Mountain area, Montana

Untreated section of the flume, Forest Service property

Treated section of the flume (foreground), Photo courtesy of USFS Helena National Forest

90% mortality rate, gray trees

Red Mountain area, Montana

Treated city property(foreground),Photo courtesy of USFS Helena National Forest

Untreated forest service property - 90% mortality rate, gray trees

Seven years after the Hayman fire: 2009, just downstream of Cheesman Reservoir. Following a big rain event, the soil continues to erode. The state has had to rebuild a road in that area because it has washed out twice with big rain storms.

Colorado - Photos courtesy of Denver Water

Seven years after the Hayman fire: 2009, just downstream of Cheesman Reservoir. Following a big rain event, the soil continues to erode.

Colorado - Photos courtesy of Denver Water

Colorado, Arizona & New MexicoWestern U.S. Water Utilities Take Financial Responsibility for Reducing Watershed Wildfire Risk http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2013/world/wildfire-and-watersheds/

A major fire could shut down the two reservoirs on the Santa Fe River:• Dredging the debris would

cost between $US 80 million and $US 240 million

• It costs tens of millions of dollars to fight fires

• Added cost of shifting the water supply to groundwater, which must be pumped and treat

An AmeriCorps crew performs bank stabilization work at the site of the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

City of HelenaA major fire in the Tenmile would shut down Helena’s primary water supply. Costs would include:

• Millions of dollars to fight fires

• Dredging the debris, rebuilding the flume

• Added cost of shifting the water supply to the Missouri River Treatment center for an indefinite timeframe

“…Bonito Lake today is filled with silt and ash from the Little Bear Fire and is no longer viable as a drinking water source for the city of Alamogordo.”The odor of charred trees and rotting fish permeates the air.http://savethewater.org/2012/07/usa-drinking-water-contamination-news-brief-bonito-lake-is-ruined-no-longer-safe-drinking-water-source-due-to-little-bear-fire/

New Mexico – Bonito Lake

Montana – Scratchgravel Hills

Following the Corral Fire in 2012, a flash flood hit the Scratchgravel Hills, causing blackened run-off in the area.

May 30, 2013http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZxnw4bRVU

Bonito Lake north of Ruidoso is no longer viable as a drinking water source for the city of Alamogordo after flooding from the Little Bear Fire filled it with silt and ash.

New Mexico – Bonito Lake (July 2012) http://www.krqe.com/weather/wildfires/fire-debris-floods-bonito-lake?searchType=ALL&compId=15124307

May 26, 2011 - Ten Mile Creek high flow, causing road damage through Rimini.

Rimini, Montana - May 2011 http://helenair.com/news/montana-braces-for-more-flooding/article_047441a0-875f-11e0-9a66-001cc4c03286.html

ColoradoHistoric Information – Denver’s Watershedhttp://denverwater.org/supplyplanning/watersupply/partnershipUSFS/

• From 1983 to 2002, 250,000 cubic yards of sediment had accumulated in the Strontia Springs Reservoir

• Following two fires and significant rainstorms, more than 1,000,000 cubic yards of sediment have accumulated in Strontia Springs Reservoir

• Denver Water has spent more than $26 million on water quality treatment, sediment and debris removal, reclamation techniques, and infrastructure projects

Resources ReferencedCredit to the Ten Mile Watershed Collaborative Committee for their commitment and hard work in creating the recommendations document submitted to and approved by the Helena City Commission on June 17, 2009: http://www.helenamt.gov/uploads/media/TMWCC_Recommendations_--_Final_Document.pdf

Helena Independent Record, Objections to Projecthttp://helenair.com/news/local/environmental-groups-object-to-logging-project-near-city-water-source/article_38bc9186-2d7c-11e3-b2b1-0019bb2963f4.html

Save the Water Article, Drinking Water Contamination in New Mexico Following Little Bear Firehttp://savethewater.org/2012/07/usa-drinking-water-contamination-news-brief-bonito-lake-is-ruined-no-longer-safe-drinking-water-source-due-to-little-bear-fire/

KRQE News Brief, Flooding in New Mexico Following Little Bear Firehttp://www.krqe.com/weather/wildfires/fire-debris-floods-bonito-lake?searchType=ALL&compId=15124307

Helena Independent Record Article, 2013 Spring Floodinghttp://helenair.com/news/montana-braces-for-more-flooding/article_047441a0-875f-11e0-9a66-001cc4c03286.html

Resources ReferencedFire and Rain: The One-Two Punch of Flooding After Blazeshttp://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/31/fire-and-rain/

YouTube video, Scratchgravel Flooding One Year After Corral Firehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqZxnw4bRVU

NPR Article, Why Colorado Floods Were So Destructivehttp://www.npr.org/2013/10/08/230461400/flood-forensics-why-colorados-floods-were-so-destructive

Historic Information – Denver’s Watershedhttp://denverwater.org/supplyplanning/watersupply/partnershipUSFS/

National Geographic Article: Amid Drought, Explaining Colorado’s Extreme Floodshttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130913-colorado-flood-boulder-climate-change-drought-fires/

National Geographic Article: Colorado Wildfires Threaten Water Supplieshttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120703/colorado-wildfires-waldo-high-park-hayman-threaten-water-supplies/

Resources Referenced, continuedEffects on Water Quantity: Fire, Drought, and Water Stresshttp://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/06/04/fire-drought-and-water-stress/

Western U.S. Water Utilities Take Financial Responsibility for Reducing Watershed Wildfire Risk http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2013/world/wildfire-and-watersheds/

Arizona: Getting Out in Front of Wildfirehttp://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/arizona/getting-out-in-front-of-wildfire.xml

Where Does Your Water Come From? (Nature Conservancy Report)http://www.nature.org/all-hands-on-earth/where-does-your-water-come-from-report.pdf

Objections:Montana Ecosystems Councilhttp://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/94938_FSPLT3_1458854.pdfNative Ecosystems Council http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558/abc123/forestservic.download.akamai.com/11558/www/nepa/94938_FSPLT3_1458356.pdf