A Forest Service appeals officer in Missoula has upheld Helena National Forest Supervisor Tom Clifford's plan for the Clancy/Unionville area, much of which provides Helena's scenic backdrop just south of the city.

Appeal Officer Kathleen McAllister made minor adjustments to the plan -- saying that Helena forest officials need to provide more information about noxious weed treatments and snag management mitigation n but otherwise was in concurrence with the decision, which was released in February.

That pleased proponents of the plan, who have been working on it for almost eight years.

"It's a well-reasoned decision and should be upheld," said John Gatchell, conservation director for the Montana Wilderness Association. "It's about time that we see this project implemented on the ground."

Helena District Ranger Duane Harp said they're anxious to start fuel reduction projects in the South Hills, Grizzly Gulch and Orofino Gulch areas, and could begin the chainsaw thinning as early as next week.

"It's important work and ties in with what the city has been doing and others on private land," Harp said. "If we can complete the Clancy/Unionville work, we'll have a significant portion of that part of the world that has had fuel treatment."

But others still aren't convinced the project is sound, and at least one lawsuit is expected to be filed, which could put the work on hold again.

"We intend to file a lawsuit," Michael Garrity, executive director for the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, said on Wednesday. "I think that they're violating the Clean Water Act, according to the recent ruling by Judge (Donald) Molloy."

In his April 30 ruling, Molloy halted a proposed 127,000-acre fire salvage timber sale in the Lolo National Forest because the project would have increased the amount of sediment in area streams. Environmental groups n including the Alliance n said the state hadn't properly quantified the existing sources of contamination for the already impaired streams, nor had it proposed a cleanup plan for them and Molloy ruled that this violated a provision of the 1972 federal Clean Water Act.

The Alliance filed a 90-page appeal of the Clancy/Unionville project in April, along with the Ecology Center in Missoula; the Native Ecosystems Council in Three Forks also appealed the project. Among other concerns, the groups were worried about the project's impacts to water quality and to old trees in the area. In addition, the Alliance and Ecology Center are concerned that the logging portion of the project would cost taxpayers more than $200,000, instead of making money.

Harp notes that the $200,000 figure takes into account other work, like obliterating roads and weeds, along with the timber harvest.

The project also was appealed by motorized vehicle proponents, who mainly claimed that the decision is too restrictive by shutting down roads that currently are used by four-wheelers. Those appellants included the Capital Trail Vehicle Association, the Montana 4x4 Association and three individuals. Their appeals were consolidated into one, and McAllister upheld the Forest Service decision on all counts.

No one from those groups was able to be reached for comment.

This is the second go-round for the Clancy/Unionville project, which covers 36,000 acres of mountainous terrain including Oro Fino, Wakina Sky and Grizzly gulches, as well as Park Lake and the Brooklyn Bridge trail. Interspersed among the federal lands are scores of homes, many of which could be threatened should catastrophic wildfires occur in the forest, which prompted the need for a management plan.

The first plan was issued three years ago, after five years of studies and meetings. It called for logging almost 8 million board feet of timber on 1,900 acres, as well as using small "controlled burns" on 2,450 acres to take out shrubs and small trees that provide fuel for wildfires. It also called for thinning trees on another 850 acres, removing 20 miles of existing roads and converting another eight miles of roads to non-motorized trails.

Seven environmental groups successfully protested the plan, which a regional forester said didn't adequately address the cumulative effects of the project. Three of those original groups also appealed the newest plan, which calls for logging 5 million board feet on 1,450 acres and "decommissioning" 28 miles of roads, including closing the popular Brooklyn Bridge forest service road.

That leaves 136 miles of road and six miles of trails open to motorized vehicles, including routes in the north and south forks of Quartz Creek and Kady Gulch.

It's estimated that it could take up to seven years to fully implement the Clancy/Unionville project.

Reporter Eve Byron can be reached at 447-4076 or by e-mail at eve.byron@helenair.com.