In his 47 years in Moscow, Dan Carscallen said there has been only one summer that the roads to Moscow Mountain closed.
That was last summer, from early July to early September of 2015. Carscallen, a clerk at the North Latah Highway District, is the one who sent out the press release announcing Moscow Mountain Road, Rock Creek Road and West Wind Road would all be closed until further notice to protect the land from fire.
“It was an intense fire season,” Carscallen said. “The main landowners up there closed all their ground and requested we close the road.”
Despite the anomaly of a summer closure, Chief Forester for Bennett Lumber Products Inc. Tom Biltonen said he didn”t think it had a big effect on the ecology of the mountain. Biltonen said Bennett closed its lands last summer and that was the first time he”s aware it had been done.
Bennett owns a large portion of land on Moscow Mountain, and Biltonen thought the closures affected the recreationalists who use the mountain more than it affected the mountain itself.
Carscallen said Moscow Mountain isn”t one peak, but rather most of the range running from the state line to Troy. He said it includes East Moscow Mountain, Moscow Mountain, East Twin, West Twin and Paradise Point. Biltonen said that Bennett works with the Idaho Department of Lands to monitor fire hazards on its land. He said last summer was hot and dry, with no snowpack and a lack of moisture.
“Everything around us was burning up,” Biltonen said. “Resources were low. We decided to shut down all of our lands.”
He said the Bennett owners Frank and Brett Bennett felt it was in the best interest of the company and the contractors to shut down. Their number one concern, he said, was safety.
“Anytime you got people, there”s a chance for fire,” Biltonen said.
Moscow Fire Department Fire Chief Brian Nickerson said the department tries to eliminate as much fire risk as it can by limiting access to certain areas. Nickerson said IDL announces fire restrictions based on fuels, moisture, wind, temperature and the amount of burnable material. He said once IDL issues restrictions, the fire department will communicate those to the community and start preparation for fire fighting.
Biltonen said Bennett said it was closing its lands by issuing a press release and making a post on Facebook. He said the biggest thing was communicating with the Highway Department, with Facebook and with the media.
“Once it got out on Facebook, it”s amazing how word got out,” Biltonen said. “People respected the closure. I was pretty impressed.”
The Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association (MAMBA) made several posts on Facebook regarding the state of the mountain and heavily encouraged people to respect the closures.
“The recreationalists did a good job,” Carscallen said. “The Mountain Bike Association did a great job. They know they operate on private ground. They respect it.”
Biltonen said Bennett has an open door policy on its land – people just have to respect the land. He said he thinks there will always be those few people who don”t follow the rules, but he believes most people on the mountain police that small group.
Bennett dodged a bullet as far as not having any fires on its lands, and Biltonen said he doesn”t think it will have to close its mountain lands this summer because it”s been a fairly wet winter.
Nickerson wasn”t so sure. He said the Palouse is anticipated to have the same fire season as last year. Carscallen said this year has had a wetter spring but all three agreed that this summer is a “wait and see” situation.
Jack Olson can be reached at [email protected]
Edward Schaper
Do you know anything about the fire on Paradise Mountain south east of Moscow Agee years ago? Ed