Ochoco National Forest releases forest restoration proposal
The Ochoco National Forest is soliciting public feedback on a proposal to implement forest restoration activities across more than 15,000 acres on the Paulina Ranger District, just east of Big Summit Prairie.
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Black Mountain Vegetation Management Project (Black Mountain project) provides a preliminary analysis of several alternatives to a proposal for implementing a suite of restoration activities.
The Black Mountain project proposes actively managing dry forests within the project area to restore historic stand composition, reduce hazardous fuel loads, and restore hardwood communities and aquatic ecosystems, using commercial and noncommercial thinning, prescribed burning, replanting, stream restoration and transportation management.
Objectives for the project include increasing forest resilience to insects, disease, fire, and drought; reducing the risk of uncharacteristic high severity fires; enhancing and restoring hardwood communities; and protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat for an array of species.
A 45-day public comment period begins the day following publication of a Notice of Availability for this DEIS in the Federal Register.
Project documents are available online at: https://data.ecosystem-management.org/nepaweb/nepa_project_exp.php?project=44954
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