Reforestation a vital part of plan

FRISCO —Removal of unhealthy and infested trees is only one feature of Frisco’s new forest management plan. Eventual recovery of forest health is the plan’s ultimate goal, Frisco public works assistant director Rick Higgins told a group of concerned citizens Thursday night.

The town plan calls for spot planting of replacement vegetation, starting in 2007, assuming the bark beetle is gone.

“The one thing I want to be sure of,” Higgins said, “is that we’re not going back (to remove trees again in the same area).”

Diversity of replacement plantings will be a high priority for the town, Higgins added.

“You’ll probably see a lot of Engelmann spruce,” he said. “If the situation is right, maybe some Douglas fir in shaded areas.” Planting will continue throughout the duration of the 10-year plan.

Particular care will be taken during tree removal not to damage healthy plants in the remaining understory, Higgins assured the group.