Protecting...cont'd from Page 1 |
|
of the remaining trees - of about 80-100 feet per acre. Treatments outside of the DFS Zone will be similar,but the number,size and species of trees we remove will be more limited. Yes, we know that all this activity is going to create a lot of slash and other debris, some of it within eyesight of your back deck. We're going to collect all of that slash into piles, let them cure for one year, then burn the piles until they're totally consumed. We'll burn the piles directly adjacent to private property first, so that the visual impact to homeowners will be eliminated as soon as possible. And to reduce environmental impacts, we'll generally burn piles when snow covers the surrounding ground. You should also know that we're going to be implementing this project in numerous phases, over about eight to ten years. So we won't be tearing up your entire view at once. We recognize that visual quality in the Duck Creek area will be impacted for while, but the long-term benefits will be worth it. The look and feel of the forest around the Duck Creek area will change for the better - tree stands will be more open, and visibility deeper into the forest will increase. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself - we've created a demonstration plot along Duck Creek Ridge Road about a mile and a half south of Highway 14 to show residents and visitors what National Forest System lands near your communities will look like after treatment.
|
|
fires. We'll be creating defensible space around the subdivisions in the area - space that will at least slow and preferably stop a wildland fire trying to cross from public onto private lands. Is this project needed? You bet - Duck Creek Village was designated a "Community at Risk" of being destroyed by wildland fire back in 2001, and not long afterwards local, county, state and federal fire managers all got together to create a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the area. The Duck Fuels Reduction Project is the Dixie National Forest's piece of that plan. If you're not convinced of the urgent need to do this yet, let me toss you another information nugget to chew on: Remember how bad the fire season was down around St. George and Cedar City last year? We didn't see that on Cedar Mountain because of the heavy and long-lasting snowpack we got during the winter of 2004-2005. Now answer me this: How much snow did we get this winter, and how long did it last? So now you're sold on the concept. But what exactly are we going to do, you ask? The answer depends on an area's proximity to private property and dominant tree species. Treatments within the Defensible Fire Space Zone, which runs from 500 to 2,000 feet into the forest from private land, will be pretty aggressive. All trees under nine inches in diameter, along with some larger fir, juniper, pine and spruce trees will be either piled and burned, or removed to be used as saw or house logs, posts and poles, chips or other biomass. The idea is to get to a basal area - the sum of the diameters
|
|
Page 2 |
|
News From Swains Creek |
|
So your private property will be safer after we're done, and the surrounding forest will be prettier. Those of you who watched the spruce beetle epidemic consume Cedar Mountain in the 1990s will be happy to know that another benefit of this project is better forest health. Thinning of encroaching fir and juniper tree species, along with thinning of smaller aspen, spruce and pine trees, will reduce competition between individual trees, groups and species, allowing the remaining trees to get the light, nutrients, space and water they need to resist fire and disease more vigorously. Where and when do we start? Phase I, including thinning and pruning trees and burning or chipping of piled fuels on about 1,400 acres, will be conducted in the Swains Creek area in 2006. I hope this article gives you a better sense of what the Dixie National Forest is trying to accomplish in the Duck Creek Village area, and why. But if you have any questions or want more information, I'm happy to oblige - give me a call at (435) 865-3744 or email me at sclemans@fs.fed.us.
Article by: Scott Clemans (435) 865-3744 (928) 643-8172 |
