Deschutes National Forest seeks comments on new rounds of burns, thinning, other treatment on 275,000 acres

To reduce hazardous fuels buildup where treatments previously occurred

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes National Forest on Monday invited "scoping comments" on the Deschutes Fuels Maintenance Treatments Project, plans to conduct new rounds of prescribed burns, thinning and other actions on 275,000 acres treated over the past 23 years across the forest.

Officials said the comments "will help inform project development during the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and would be most helpful if received by July 5."

Forest Service officials said they proposing to "maintain previous treatments through continued prescribed burning and other vegetation management activities that reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire to the communities and infrastructure of Central Oregon."

The treatments are designed to prevent and reduce the buildup of hazardous fuels on approximately 275,000 acres that have received previous vegetation and hazardous fuels reduction treatments. Treatments would occur across the Deschutes National Forest in Deschutes, Jefferson, Klamath and Lake counties.

Treatments to reduce fuels would include both controlled burns, also called prescribed fire, and non-fire treatments such as mowing/mastication, pruning, and thinning of trees up to nine inches in diameter.

"Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are continuing to increase in frequency, size, and severity," the scoping letter signed by Forest Supervisor Holly Jewkes states. "Since 2000, the Forest has planned and carried out hazardous fuels reduction projects to reduce risk of undesirable wildfire impacts to the communities and infrastructure of Central Oregon.

"Thus, there is a need to maintain and improve the conditions in these treated areas to reduce risk to public and firefighter safety, adjacent communities, and sensitive habitats long-term," officials said in the letter.

The Deschutes National Forest Fuels Maintenance Treatments Project is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is part of the Central Oregon Landscape investment area that was identified in the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The Wildfire Crisis Strategy aims to reduce severity of wildfires, protect communities and improve the health and resiliency of fire-dependent forests.

The project is currently anticipated to complete National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review as an environmental assessment (EA), pending input from the public and resource specialists about anticipated environmental effects. This scoping period is one of two public comment opportunities that will be available before the Forest Service makes a decision on the project.

Additional information on the project is available in the scoping document on the project’s webpage https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63892 and the project’s interactive web map at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3bae7a85ec0b4dcebadd7af504b955d6/. Comments can be submitted through the project webpage by clicking on "Comment/Object on Project".

For more information, contact Sasha Bertel, Forest Environmental Coordinator, at 541-383-5563 or sasha.bertel@usda.gov or Cristina Peterson, Assistant Forest Environmental Coordinator, at 541-383-5578 or cristina.peterson@usda.gov.