Ochoco NF outlines plans for Bailey Butte Fire area
The Ochoco National Forest is seeking public feedback on a draft plan to treat parts of the 2014 Bailey Butte fire area.
The Bailey Butte fire started by lightning on private property July 14 and then ran south onto the Lookout Mountain Ranger District. The fire was contained on July 26 after burning 10,272 acres, of which 7,789 acres were on the Ochoco National Forest.
The project proposes to remove immediate roadside hazard trees, to provide limited reforestation in areas of high severity, and to provide some economic benefit to local communities by harvesting a limited amount of burned timber.
The current proposal includes the harvest of about 4 million board-feet of fire-killed trees on up to 900 acres spanning 19 miles of roads.
A 30-day public comment period began yesterday following publication of a legal notice in the newspaper of record. Comments should be sent to comments-pacificnorthwest-ochoco@fs.fed.us no later than April 22.
For more information on this project, find the planning documents online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ochoco/landmanagement/projects or contact Marcy Anderson at marcelle-anderson@fs.fed.us.
