The view north into the project area from the 

 DFWP fishing access on the south shore of 

 Beaver Lake is also a middleground view- 

 point. This view has the lake in the fore- 

 ground, with a variety of tree and brush 

 species along the far shoreline. Boat docks 

 and portions of some cabins from the leases 

 are also visible. The background displays a 

 high degree of texture due to the broken 

 topography and variety of tree species present. 

 The broken topography shows rock outcrops 

 through the timber canopy. Roads within tiie 

 State ownership are not visible. Roads and 

 recent harvesting activities on the private 

 ownership in Section 21 are visible. 



For most of the public, the view west from 

 East Lakeshore Drive along Whitefish Lake is 

 a middleground, drive-by view, often broken 

 by the trees along East Lakeshore Drive. The 

 far shoreline is private ownership; the visible 

 part of State ownership begins midway on the 

 slope and extends to some of the ridge tops. 

 The background displays a high degree of 

 texture due to the broken topography and 

 variety of tree species and tree heights present. 

 Roads are not visible within the project area. 



The entrance to the State ownership is com- 

 monly referred to as the 'cul-de-sac'. A 

 wooden sign provides the general locations of 

 roads and lakes on the project area. Another 

 sign provided by DFWP 

 gives the general direction 

 to the public fishing 

 access. In regard to the 

 forested landscape aroimd 

 the cul-de-sac, the view is 

 strictly foreground with a 

 variety of grass, forbs, 

 brush, and tree species in 

 varying size classes. 



In general, the views 

 within the project area can 

 be seen from the existing 

 roads. The brush and 

 encroachment of small 

 trees along the roadways 

 create a narrow, tunneling 

 appearance with limited 

 visibility around curves 



and into the adjacent forest. A minimum 

 clearing width when roads are constructed is 

 30 feet; all vegetation would be removed 

 within this 30 feet during construction. There- 

 fore, with the exception of South Beaver Road 

 (brushed in 1995), most of the road segments 

 20 to 50 years old have trees and brush en- 

 croaching. 



A computer-simulated view of the project area, 

 projected from high elevation and looking 

 north into the project area, is presented in 

 Figure III-13. The simulation is accurate in its 

 display of topography and topographic fea- 

 tures. The portrayal of forested and 

 nonforested portions of the landscape is 

 relatively accurate. The trees within the 

 forested landscape are only a visual represen- 

 tation and are not based on stand inventory 

 data of the forest. Road widths are exagger- 

 ated in this computer demonstration, but do 

 help the viewer become oriented inside the 

 project area. The computer simulations were 

 created in cooperation with the Beaver Lake 

 Cooperative, DNRC, and Flathead National 

 Forest. 



FIGURE 111-13- COMPUTER-SIMULATED VIEW OF EXISTING 

 BEAVER LAKE PROJECT AREA 



Chapter III: Affected Environment 



