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SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service has proposed speeding up the regeneration of beetle-killed lodgepole pine forests in the Lower Blue by clear-cutting large chunks of the Lower Blue River Valley.
The 4,300-acre forest-health project currently under public review would be one of the largest recent logging projects on the Dillon Ranger District in recent memory.
Because of the extent of the beetle-kill, many of the areas will be clear-cut.
Along with promoting regrowth, the project is aimed at protecting neighborhoods and watersheds from catastrophic wildfires.
About 73 acres slated for treatment are within defensible space on national forest land adjacent to private land.
Logging is planned in the vicinity of Maryland Creek, Pebble Creek, Boulder Creek, Harrigan Creek, Slate Creek, Brush Creek and Spring Creek, and on the east side of Colorado 9 near Pioneer Creek and Ute Pass Road.
In a sense, the project is a race against time, as the trees start to lose commercial value within three to five years after they die.
Forest Service officials hope to start logging in 2009, but it’s not yet clear if the project is economically feasible.
The economic value of lodgepole is marginal to begin with, and the depressed housing market has pushed timber prices down dramatically, so the agency will have to wait to see what kind of bids come in on the project.
On the upside, fuel prices have also dropped significantly, and a mothballed lumber mill in Wyoming is set to re-open, reducing transportation costs for the timber.
The project would require 14 to 19 miles of temporary roads.
Rocky Smith, an analyst with the Forest Service watchdog group Colorado Wild, had some concerns with how the Forest Service plans to deal with the logging debris.
“There's a lot of research that shows the importance of woody debris,” Smith said.
Some of the organic material from the dead trees needs to be left in place to replenish the thin, rocky soils, he said.
Some studies suggest the loggers need to leave about 24 tons per acre. Older studies from Europe show that, if too much of the material is removed, it leads to “measurable problems” with soil, Smith said.
Removing or burning the debris also could delay natural regeneration by removing too many of the seed-bearing cones, he said.
The Forest Service must balance that factor with the need to reduce fuel loading and the pressure to find economic value for the dead wood.
As a nascent biomass industry gains strength, there could be more pressure to remove too much of the wood, Smith said.
He’s also concerned that the Lower Blue project seems to be on a fast track because the beetle-killed trees lose their commercial value quickly.
“The Forest Service will sell to anybody. They're desperate to get the stuff cut,” Smith said. It’s important for the agency to choose a reputable contractor and exercise good oversight, he added.
“There's no waste in nature,” Smith said. “You have to harvest the interest, not the capital.”
Incoming County Commissioner and Lower Blue resident Karn Stiegelmeier also called for strong oversight to protect natural resources.
She was especially concerned about the need to protect against invasive weeds and erosion once the logging is done.
As she understands it, those requirements are not included in the proposed logging contract, yet the Forest Service doesn’t have any money budgeted for control work after the logging is completed.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
The 4,300-acre forest-health project currently under public review would be one of the largest recent logging projects on the Dillon Ranger District in recent memory.
Because of the extent of the beetle-kill, many of the areas will be clear-cut.
Along with promoting regrowth, the project is aimed at protecting neighborhoods and watersheds from catastrophic wildfires.
About 73 acres slated for treatment are within defensible space on national forest land adjacent to private land.
Logging is planned in the vicinity of Maryland Creek, Pebble Creek, Boulder Creek, Harrigan Creek, Slate Creek, Brush Creek and Spring Creek, and on the east side of Colorado 9 near Pioneer Creek and Ute Pass Road.
In a sense, the project is a race against time, as the trees start to lose commercial value within three to five years after they die.
Forest Service officials hope to start logging in 2009, but it’s not yet clear if the project is economically feasible.
The economic value of lodgepole is marginal to begin with, and the depressed housing market has pushed timber prices down dramatically, so the agency will have to wait to see what kind of bids come in on the project.
On the upside, fuel prices have also dropped significantly, and a mothballed lumber mill in Wyoming is set to re-open, reducing transportation costs for the timber.
The project would require 14 to 19 miles of temporary roads.
Rocky Smith, an analyst with the Forest Service watchdog group Colorado Wild, had some concerns with how the Forest Service plans to deal with the logging debris.
“There's a lot of research that shows the importance of woody debris,” Smith said.
Some of the organic material from the dead trees needs to be left in place to replenish the thin, rocky soils, he said.
Some studies suggest the loggers need to leave about 24 tons per acre. Older studies from Europe show that, if too much of the material is removed, it leads to “measurable problems” with soil, Smith said.
Removing or burning the debris also could delay natural regeneration by removing too many of the seed-bearing cones, he said.
The Forest Service must balance that factor with the need to reduce fuel loading and the pressure to find economic value for the dead wood.
As a nascent biomass industry gains strength, there could be more pressure to remove too much of the wood, Smith said.
He’s also concerned that the Lower Blue project seems to be on a fast track because the beetle-killed trees lose their commercial value quickly.
“The Forest Service will sell to anybody. They're desperate to get the stuff cut,” Smith said. It’s important for the agency to choose a reputable contractor and exercise good oversight, he added.
“There's no waste in nature,” Smith said. “You have to harvest the interest, not the capital.”
Incoming County Commissioner and Lower Blue resident Karn Stiegelmeier also called for strong oversight to protect natural resources.
She was especially concerned about the need to protect against invasive weeds and erosion once the logging is done.
As she understands it, those requirements are not included in the proposed logging contract, yet the Forest Service doesn’t have any money budgeted for control work after the logging is completed.
Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.
