| OCR Text |
Show Forest Service Sets Health Project For Blue Springs-Reeds Springs-Reeds Valley Area On Jan. 12, Forest Supervisor Hugh Thompson approved the Blue SpringsReeds Valley Recovery Project on the Cedar City Ranger District. The project comprises two areas, Blue Springs and Reeds Valley, located about 35 miles east of Cedar City near Highway 143 in the Panguitch Lake area. Thompson says the project is designed to achieve several objectives objec-tives that will move the area toward a healthier and more desirable condition. They include suppressing suppress-ing bark beetles and mistletoe infestations, restoring vigor of aspen clones, restoring the role of fire in ponderosa and aspen forests, recovering the merchantable wood products, establishing a defensible fire protection zone around private subdivisions, and modifying the road system for resource protection and improved safety. Actions that will be undertaken to achieve these objectives include harvesting dead, dying and at-risk trees (pine, Douglas fir and other species) on about 2,900 acres; using lethal trap tree baiting to attract beetles away from high-value areas such as private subdivisions; reducing fuel build-up through burning and mechanical means; cutting patches of aspen to stimulate clones; restoring some areas; and closing about 20 miles of poorly located roads while constructing about 3.7 miles of new road to improve drainage, protect wildlife habitat, and reduce safety problems. Measures will be taken to protect goshawk habitat within the rare. Implementation of the project, which is subject to appeal until March 3, is scheduled to begin later this spring. |
