Unprecedented forest management eyed in Aspen area
Forest Service wants to use fire, mulching to improve habitat on 57,000 acres
by Scott Condon, The Aspen Times, May 12, 2010 [here]
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — The U.S. Forest Service wants to burn and mulch the forest surrounding the Roaring Fork basin at an unprecedented level over the next five years to restore wildlife habitat described by officials as being in “horrible” condition.
The White River National Forest supervisor’s office in Glenwood Springs is considering prescribed burns, mechanical treatment with heavy machinery or a combination of the two on about 57,000 acres. The project sites range from a portion of Red Mountain north of Aspen, to the Nast area in the Fryingpan Valley, the canyons east of Glenwood Springs and the Assignation Ridge area on the west side of Highway 133 between Redstone and Carbondale.
A specific list of projects hasn’t been released yet, but the Forest Service intends to make it available shortly. All of the projects are designed to enhance wildlife habitat rather than deal directly with trees killed by beetles, although that may be an extra benefit in some cases, said Phil Nyland, wildlife biologist on the forest.
White River Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams, who took the top post in the 2.3 million-acre forest last fall, said he was surprised to learn about the condition of wildlife habitat around the Roaring Fork Valley.
“The winter and transitional range is in very poor condition, in a general sense,” he said. “I would describe it as horrible.”
Forest Service officials hope to gain the support of Roaring Fork Valley residents for the projects. But Fitzwilliams acknowledged it could be a tough sell with some residents because it involves putting up with smoke from prescribed burns and temporarily charred or razed hillsides.
“This is definitely breaking new ground” in the Roaring Fork Valley, he said.
The Forest Service is undertaking a special effort to educate the public about the projects and to gauge support. Nyland said open houses will be held over the next six to eight weeks. He will also meet with neighborhood caucuses, and information will be shared through various media. The projects will go through the process required under the National Environmental Policy Act, which means an environmental assessment with a public comment opportunity.
Fitzwilliams said the Forest Service must show residents that sitting by and “letting nature run its course” isn’t a legitimate option. Decades of fire suppression has already blocked nature from taking its course.
“In this valley, vegetation treatment has been non-existent for the last 25 years,” Fitzwilliams said. “It’s vitally important to this valley that we do something. … [more]