By Carli Johnson STAFF WRITER
A three-acre fuel mitigation project in the MeadowView neighborhood was completed this summer, reducing vegetation and other wildfire fuels on the northern hillside of the neighborhood.
The project was initiated by resident and HOA treasurer Dakota Nelson after he learned about Fire Adapted Big Sky, a community initiative focused on wildfire preparedness and mitigation. Nelson said training for neighborhood ambassadors helped demonstrate what communities could do to reduce wildfire risk.
“Once I had those trainings, it truly inspired me to think, ‘What can I do? What can I bring back home?’” Nelson said.
Nelson brought the idea to the Meadowview HOA and began working with Big Sky Fire Department personnel, including Division Chief of Wildland Fire Jon Trapp and fuels crew leader John Depew, to develop the project.
The work was conducted on approximately three acres of common land on the uphill slope above the MeadowView neighborhood off of Little Coyote Road. According to Nelson, a crew of approximately six or seven people completed the work in about a week, beginning July 13.
The crew limbed trees, removed smaller trees and vegetation, cleared corridors between groups of trees and reduced accumulated ground fuels. Material that was not chipped was piled for planned burning in the spring.
The MeadowView project was part of broader fuel mitigation work conducted in the Big Sky area, including Mountain Village and surrounding properties, as well as Beaver Creek and Jack Creek.
The project’s intention is to reduce wildfire fuels while retaining the area’s forested character. Fire officials worked with the HOA to determine how the treatment could meet fuel mitigation requirements without removing all of the trees.
“They’re not just going up there to rip out all the trees,” Nelson said. “They still want to maintain some beauty, and they still want the forest to be present.”
Trapp said the work also provides benefits to the health of the forest.
“Doing these treatments improves forest health, resiliency and diversity,” Trapp said.
The hillside is part of land owned by Big Sky Community Housing Trust. Because MeadowView is a workforce housing development with deed restrictions, Nelson said protecting the surrounding property was viewed as a long-term investment in the neighborhood.
“It’s not just meant for those of us that are here now,” Nelson said. “It’s for homeowners down the road.”
Funding for the project came primarily through the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Nelson estimated that the state funding covered approximately 75% of the project and Big Sky Community Housing Trust covered the remaining 25%. The project did not result in a direct cost to MeadowView homeowners.
The completed treatment has left the hillside more open and accessible while maintaining its character as wildland space. Nelson said the primary purpose was wildfire mitigation rather than creating a new recreational area.
Nelson hopes the MeadowView project can serve as an example for other Big Sky neighborhoods considering similar work.
