USFS to close west Bend trail for thinning project
The Deschutes National Forest said it is planning to close the Storm King trail in west Bend on weekdays beginning Wednesday for commercial thinning operations.
Contractors will be commercially thinning and hauling in three timber sale units in West Bend beginning at 4:00 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through mid-November.
The only trail within the 118 acres that will be affected will be the Storm King trail from intersection #34 with Tiddlywinks to intersection #31 at Forest Service Road 41, which will be closed Monday at 4 a.m. through Friday at 4 p.m. for the duration of the thinning and hauling operation, but open on weekends.
For up-to-date trail closure information in West Bend, visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/webmaps/deschutes/west-bend/public-information/
Commercial thinning in this area is used to provide a diversity of forest structure and associated wildlife habitats that are reflective of the forest’s historic structure.
The West Bend Vegetation Project is the first project from the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project. The project’s steering committee and the Deschutes National Forest have worked on together from the beginning to design, plan, and now to implement collaborative land use goals.
The purpose of the West Bend Vegetation Management Project is to do vegetation treatments across approximately 26,000 acres of the Deschutes National Forest to restore a more historic and healthy forest landscape.
