Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests

Pawnee National Grassland

Boulder Ranger District

Date: Sept. 4, 2015

Contact: Reid Armstrong, 970-222-7607

Boulder Ranger District begins public outreach on forest health project

NEDERLAND, Colo. – The U.S. Forest Service’s Boulder Ranger District is accepting public comment on a proposed forest health project that would treat 3,840 acres of vegetation on National Forest System lands in the vicinity of Gross Reservoir and Nederland.

The project’s primary goals are to improve forest health in the absence of wildfire; improve the resiliency of watersheds in the event a wildfire does occur; and provide opportunities for neighboring landowners to create defensible space on the National Forest boundary near their homes. This project is being tiered off previous environmental analysis and is called Forsythe II.

Work would occur in lower montane lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer and aspen stands. Possible types of treatment include thinning, patch cuts and clear cuts using both chainsaws and machinery, as well as prescribed burning. The full proposed action, maps, example photos and information on how to comment are located on the project website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/Forsythe2.

The initial public scoping period, which begins this week, will last approximately one month and may lead to some adjustments in what’s being proposed. A field trip is being planned, Sept. 26, to discuss the proposal and a formal comment period will occur this fall. The final environmental analysis will be written over the winter months and a decision is expected in the spring of 2016. Implementation on portions of the project could begin as soon as next summer.

All future announcements and information about this project and related meetings will be shared by email. To be added to the mailing list, email brdvis@nullfs.fed.us with the subject line Forsythe II. Please include your full name and mailing address for the project records.