LA JARA – Conejos Peak District Ranger Andrea Jones has released the final record of decision for the CP District-wide Salvage Project.
District Ranger Jones selected alternative 2 as analyzed in the final environmental impact statement with some modifications. More than 330,000 acres were included in the analysis area on the west side of the district.
“My decision will allow salvage of dead and dying spruce trees for commercial use and thinning trees near private land to help protect structures from wildland fire, while also protecting important wildlife habitat,” said Jones.
Up to 14,000 acres of dead and dying spruce trees in beetle infested areas will be salvaged over a ten year period primarily for use as commercial sawtimber or house logs. Surveys will be conducted the first and third year after areas are harvested to determine stocking levels of the remaining trees. Tree seedlings grown from locally collected sources will be planted in those areas determined to not be adequately stocked.
More than 2,500 acres of proposed salvage areas were excluded from tree harvest activity in order to protect key Canada lynx habitat. Another 410 acres proposed for salvage was excluded near the Colorado/New Mexico state line to conserve habitat connectivity for elk, deer and other wildlife species.
Shaded fuel breaks on up to 1000 acres will be established by thinning and pruning trees within 400 feet of private property or 200 feet of administrative sites. These treatments are expected to reduce fire behavior and intensity allowing for better opportunities for firefighters to engage fire near structures.
“We will be using project implementation checklists as part of this project,” said Jones. Implementation checklists allow resource specialists to identify adaptive changes based on on-the-ground conditions prior to project implementation. This can result in additional project design criteria, or project specific monitoring. Checklists are reviewed for consistency with the analysis and the forest plan and approved by the District Ranger. Project implementation checklists will be posted to the forest website at the address below, interested parties may check there for updates.
The public is invited to a meeting to discuss the first project implementation checklist, for the DeHerrera Salvage area on September 5th at the Conejos Peak Ranger District Office from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The office is located at 15571 County Road T. 5, La Jara. Those unable to attend may contact Michael Tooley to set up an alternate time to meet or discuss the project. Input or feedback regarding the DeHerrera checklist should be submitted to the Conejos Peak District via Michael Tooley (mltooley@fs.fed.us) via letter, phone call, or e-mail no later than 8 a.m., Monday, September 10.
The final environmental impact statement and record of decision for the CP District-wide Salvage Project may be viewed at http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/riogrande/landmanagement/projects.
For more information, contact Michael Tooley at the Conejos Peak Ranger District office at 719-274-8971.
