East Lake Campground, boat launch to close

The Deschutes National Forest will be closing East Lake Campground and Boat Launch on Thursday, Sept. 6 to begin operations for the “Shield” forest management project.

This project will remove trees exhibiting signs of future failure from insect infestation and disease from recreation sites and roadsides in Newberry Caldera. East Lake Campground and Boat Launch will reopen after operations on this 12-acre area are complete.

Continuing through the fall, some campgrounds, recreation sites and trails in Newberry National Volcanic Monument will be temporarily closed for operators to safely remove marked trees. Operators will rotate through the campgrounds to help minimize the amount of time each recreation site will be closed.

Beginning on Labor Day, 3 Little Crater and Cinder Hill Campgrounds and on Sept. 14, Newberry Group Camp will stop taking campsite reservations for this season and switch to first-come first-serve campsites until operations in those areas begin.

Chief Paulina Horse Camp will also stop taking campsite reservations on Monday 3 and switch to first-come first-serve camping until a parking renovation project begins.

Forest Service employees marked trees during the summer of 2017. Painted trees do not pose an immediate hazard to visitors, as trees that imminently threaten campground visitors are removed annually.

Some trees are showing signs of future failure from insect infestations, officials said, and disease and completing this work now will help reduce further outbreaks around the developed recreation sites. Tree removal work will continue through 2020 and may affect campground reservation availability for next year.

The Newberry National Volcanic Monument is a special place, and care has been taken to complete this work in a timely manner, the agency said in a news release. The goal of the Deschutes National Forest is to maintain the beauty of the caldera and the health of our forest so visitors can enjoy this natural wonder long into the future.

For more information on this project, visit: https://go.usa.gov/xUMap