Sisters Ranger District continues hazardous fuels reduction work by Highway 20, Camp Sherman
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — Sisters Ranger District fire specialists are conducting brush removal work with Forest Service staff and contractors to mow about 3,300 acres of brush across several sites in three project areas, including by Highway 20 and in the Camp Sherman area.
Equipment operators have been conducting this work since late fall. Starting this week, they will be shifting brush mastication operations to the Highway 20 Project Area, located on National Forest System lands immediately adjacent to Highway 20 and northeast of the West Barclay Drive roundabout.
In addition, equipment operators will continue intermittent mowing operations in the Camp Sherman area along Forest Service Roads 14, 1120 and 12 as snow conditions allow.
No trail or road closures are anticipated; however, the Forest Service asks the public to be aware of this work and avoid areas when mowing is occurring.
Mowing reduces hazardous fuels 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.
This fuels reduction work is funded, in part, through the Joint Chief’s 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.
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 us on Twitter @CentralORFire. For further questions contact the Sisters Ranger District at (541) 549-7700.
