By Lorena Williams
The Pagosa Ranger District anticipates timber harvesting and log hauling along several National Forest System roads through the end of the year.
Vegetation management work on the district aims to achieve various resource objectives including, but not limited to, fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, forest health and regeneration, as well as salvaging of dead and dying trees. This work is being performed by a local and regional workforce that helps support economies.
While no closures are in place, forest visitors should take safety precautions and drive slowly around heavy machinery and log trucks. Not all areas or roads will have activity occurring during all periods of the summer.
For the remainder of the calendar year, the Pagosa Ranger District anticipates timber harvesting and log hauling along and adjacent to the following National Forest System roads:
- Piedra Road (NFSR 631/600).
- Kenney Flats Road (NFSR 006).
- Nipple Mountain/Aspen Spur/Porcupine roads (NFSRs 665, 024 and 735).
- Sand Creek/Piedra roads (NFSRs 642 and 631).
- Trail Ridge Road (NFSR 639).
- Blanco Basin — Blanco River Trailhead parking area (NFSR 657.C).
- Turkey Springs/Brockover roads (NFSRs 629 and 919).
- Jackson Mountain Road (NFSR 037).
Logging operations will also be active intermittently along and adjacent to some segments of National Forest System trails: 303, 304, 306, 307, 319 and 321. These trails will remain open for public use during active operations. Please exercise caution if you plan to visit any of the above areas.
Timber harvesting and hauling operations will soon begin on the 600-acre First Notch Stewardship Project on the San Juan National Forest Columbine Ranger District. This project will take place on First Notch Road (NFSR 620) from now until early fall. Visitors should take safety precautions when traveling in the area, as logging trucks and heavy equipment will be operating and traveling along roadways. This project aims to reduce fuels and create canopy spacing in the tree overstory to reduce the potential for high-severity wildfire, in addition to supporting local and regional wood product industries.
The First Notch timber sale is possible thanks to a partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and partners are performing fire risk reduction work, we hope you — our community members — are doing the same for your homes and neighborhoods, mitigating wildfire risk in rural settings, the wildland-urban interface and in the urban environment.
Check out resources from Colorado State Forest Service’s Live Wildfire Ready program to prepare your home for wildfire and make sure you’re ready when the inevitable occurs: https://csfs.colostate.edu/live-wildfire-ready/.
For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874 or visit the forest website, www.fs.usda.gov/r02/sanjuan.
Lorena Williams is Communications Specialist with the San Juan National Forest.