Sisters Ranger District begins hazardous fuels reduction work
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Starting Friday, Sisters Ranger District fuel specialists will work with contractors to mow about 2,000 acres of brush across three project areas.
The three areas include the Metolius Basin Vegetation Management Project, Sisters Area Fuels Reduction (SAFR) and McCache project area.
Mowing reduces hazardous fuel loading and helps prepare areas for prescribed fire treatments. Both mowing and prescribed burning can reduce the potential of high-intensity wildfires. Mowing work is scheduled in the fall and winter months to take advantage of cooler weather and increased moisture, as well as to minimize impacts to ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.
Fuel specialists expect to treat about 988 acres in the Metolius Basin to protect the Camp Sherman community. Temporary trail closures or re-routes along the Metolius-Windigo Trail east of Forest Service Road 14 and extending half-mile down the trail to the south may be used. Trail closures likely will be in place for short durations, and, for their safety, trail users should avoid the area while active mowing operations are taking place.
The work within the Metolius Basin Project area is funded through the Joint Chiefs' Landscape Restoration Partnership, a national initiative between the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service to invest in projects aimed at mitigating wildfire risk, improving water quality and restoring healthy forest ecosystems on public and private lands.
Throughout the fall, fuel specialists also will mow 1,000 acres within the SAFR project area, west of the Crossroads Subdivision along Highway 242 near Cold Springs Campground. The work could cause short-duration impacts to roads and trails west of the Crossroad and Tollgate communities.
For more information on hazardous fuels reduction projects in Central Oregon, visit the interactive website at http://www.centraloregonfire.org/ or visit www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes and follow on Twitter @CentralORFire. For further questions, contact the Sisters Ranger District at (541) 549-7700.
