A guide to rural living in northwest Montana Lincoln Conservation District PO Box 2170 949 US Highway 93 North Eureka, Montana 59917-2170 Phone (406) 297-2233 • Fax (406) 296-7188 www.lincolncd.org Provided by: [email protected] Lincoln Conservation District Lincoln County Area Map British Columbia West Northwest Kootenai Ten Peak Lakes )"92 !( !( Eureka Rexford Tob Scenic Scenic ac c o R Area Area ive Yaak r £93 # Koocanusa Bridge [ )"508 # D i c k e y Fortine L a k e # # Sylvanite Trego # Stryker - W < Y ¬37 -- a « Bo )"567 L h n a n i e t rs k a Fer e r R y k f - i v i e s e h r - K - > o o c [£2 a n u )"36 n s te a Koo ai River Troy !( Idaho Libby Dam !( C Libby a F i b s i h n e r e F R 56 t i «¬ s M i h v e e r B u l l o r R L a k e u i Ross n v e t r Creek a R i o - n a Cedars M s d T H W w [£2 i y l 2 d 0 e 0 r - n - > e s #Happy's Inn s T h o m p s o n alispell--> I L a k e s -K Legend # Unincorporated Towns !( Incorporated Towns Rivers/Streams Highways/Roads 5 0 5 10 15 20 Miles Lincoln County Introduction Welcome to Lincoln County . 3 Rural Living Handbook Lincoln County Facts . 4 History of Lincoln County . 5 A guide to rural living in Code of the West . 7 northwest Montana Being Neighborly . 8 Your Land Buying Country Property . 9 Noxious Weeds . 11 Lincoln Native Plants and Landscaping . 13 Land Capabilities in Lincoln County . 15 Conservation Be Firewise: A Guide for Homeowners in District the Wildland Urban Interface . 16 Small Woodland Management . 18 Montana Water Rights . 19 This publication was printed with funds from a Montana Private Septic Systems . 20 Department of Natural Resources and Conservation grant. Be a Responsible Well Owner . 22 Riparian Areas and Wetlands . 23 You may reproduce or copy any portion of this handbook Raising Livestock . 25 after notifying the Lincoln Conservation District. Please Living With Wildlife . 27 acknowledge this publication as the source. Wildlife Friendly Fencing . 29 Printed March 2011 Services What Can Lincoln Conservation District Do For You? . 30 Planning and Development . 32 Animal Control . 33 Waste Management . 34 General Information Forest Products . 35 Composting . 36 Libby and Vermiculite . 37 Recreation Opportunities . 38 Safe Winter Driving . 41 Winter Power Outage . 42 Resources Local Resources . 44 Government Agencies . 47 Credits . 50 Tobacco River A guide to rural living in northwest Montana 1 Notes Page This publication was printed with funds from a Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation grant . 2,500 copies of this public document were published at an estimated cost of $2 .05 per copy, for a total of $5,112 .00 which includes $5,112 .00 for print- ing and $0 for distribution . 2 Lincoln County Rural Living Handbook Welcome to Lincoln County The supervisors and staff of the Lincoln Conservation you . This handbook will not provide a thorough exami- District and other agency representatives have developed nation of all the topics, but will touch upon some of the this handbook for both current and prospective rural most common issues you may face as a new landowner landowners in Lincoln County . Rural life can increase at one time or another . As a reader of the handbook, independence and self-reliance as well as develop strong you will be guided to the appropriate agency for more relationships with neighbors . The lack of certain conve- detailed information . If you find yourself in doubt, the niences and services of urban living can be quite chal- staff at the Conservation District can be a good first stop . lenging . If we cannot help you, we can put you in touch with the right people to get the help and assistance you need . However, if you have moved here from an urban area, you may be shocked by the hard work required to man- The last section of the handbook provides contact infor- age rural property . Newcomers often find the idyllic im- mation for the local, state and federal agencies who can ages of easy country living quickly dispelled when faced assist you . There you can find a quick reference guide to with the responsibilities of managing rural property . community services and agencies for land and resource management . Contained in these pages is information designed to pro- vide not necessarily all the answers to your questions, but Please enjoy the natural resources Lincoln County has to direct you to the resources and agencies that can assist offer and be a responsible landowner by following good land management practices . Cabinet Mountain Wilderness Lake Creek Falls A guide to rural living in northwest Montana 3 Lincoln County Facts Lincoln County is located in the extreme northwest cor- ner of Montana . It is heavily forested and largely con- tained within the Kootenai National Forest . Lincoln County is bordered by both Canada and Idaho . There are 4 incorporated areas in Lincoln County: Libby, the County Seat, Eureka, Troy and Rexford . Unincorpo- rated communities include Stryker, Fortine, Trego, West Kootenai, Yaak Valley, Lake Creek Valley and Bull Lake . The population of Lincoln County in 2009 was estimat- ed to be 18,717 people . County Assistance: Most county offices are located in above sea level where the Kootenai River enters Idaho, Libby . Some county business can also be conducted at to over 8,700 feet in the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness . the North County Annex in Eureka . In Montana, coun- ty governments administer or help the state with county Land: Lincoln County is comprised of an area of 3,675 parks, county roads, courts, county nurses and health, square miles . Approximately 90% of the county’s total planning, septic systems, schools, libraries, weed abate- land is owned and managed by the U .S . Forest Service, ment, driver’s licenses, property taxes and many other the State of Montana or large private corporations, in- areas . County officials are always helpful and willing to cluding Plum Creek Timber Company and Stimson answer questions . Lumber Company . The Kootenai National Forest has 73 .5% of the land with Plum Creek Timber Company Climate: The county has a mountain-type climate which owning and controlling approximately 12 .5% of the is warm and dry in the summer and cold and moist in land . Lincoln County is comprised of 9 .2% privately the winter . Most of the snow falls during the November owned non-forest land and 92% of the land covered by through March period but heavy snowstorms can occur forestland . as early as mid-September or as late as early May . Annual snowfall varies from about 40 inches in the lower val- Industry: During the last few decades, the natural re- leys to an estimated 300 inches in some mountain areas . sources industries of Lincoln County have been in a state Average annual precipitation varies from 18 to 25 inches of decline . No major lumber mill exists in the county, near Libby and Troy to only 14 inches in the Tobacco the Christmas tree industry has ended and high land Valley near Eureka . The higher elevations have precipita- prices have caused many farmers and ranchers to sub- tion amounts of over 70 inches per year . divide their land . Mining has remained a bright spot . The main industries today are educational, health and so- Geography: The geography of the county is dominated cial services, and retail with some manufacturing . With by mountainous, forest-covered terrain within the Cabi- less than 10% of the land in Lincoln County privately net, Purcell and Salish mountain ranges . The mountain- owned, recreational opportunities are abundant . As a re- ous terrain is cut by narrow river valleys forming the sult, tourism and service industries are increasing . Fish- Tobacco Valley, Libby Valley and the Yaak Valley . The el- ing, hiking, hunting, snowmobiling and camping are evation in Lincoln County ranges from about 1,820 feet popular with residents and nonresidents alike . 4 Lincoln County Rural Living Handbook History of Lincoln County Ice and water created most of the geographical features lands also provided berry-picking opportunities, with of Lincoln County . Once, this area was a wide empty huckleberries, elderberries, thimbleberries, serviceberries plain high above sea level and barren of animal or plant and strawberries . The Kootenai knowledge of the physi- life . When the planet cooled and shrank, a great range cal geography was legendary and they, no doubt, knew of mountains heaved up to the west along what is now every nook and cranny in the area . Early explorers recog- the Pacific Coast . This upheaval caused the sea to flow in nized the Kootenai as great climbers with tremendous leg upon the plains from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic muscles . The explorers were unable to maintain a similar Ocean . Through the ages, sediment eroded from these pace when traveling with Kootenai hunters . A series mountains and settled to the bottom of this inland sea, of interconnected trails, similar to our current road and burying in the process billions of tons of shells and skel- highway systems, crisscrossed the Kootenai homeland . etons of sea creatures to eventually form limestone rock . For centuries, these trails led to adventure whether it was Millions of years later the earth’s forces caused this sea to hunting, fishing, trading or war before becoming many gradually uplift to form the Rocky Mountains .