|
A four-year, 1,300-acre project — dubbed the Deer Point Forest Stewardship Project — is beginning soon in the Boise National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service announced. The
project, which is one mile southwest of the Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, aims to “help to protect the area’s wildland urban interface and critical recreation resources by improving forest health and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire,” the Forest Service said in an April 30 press release. The
project will include commercial logging for certain species of trees in the area and the removal of trees that are hazardous to the public due to insects and disease. Some of that tree removal work will require some trail and road closures to keep residents safe, the Forest Service said. Boise
County will close Bogus Basin Road from mile marker 9.8 to the paved Bogus Basin parking lot, the press release said. That closure includes all vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic from 8-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m., Monday through Friday, beginning May 12 through June 20. Bogus Basin Road will be open all day on weekends and Memorial Day, according to the Forest Service. “We understand these temporary closures will be disruptive so we worked with our partners at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area and nearby residents to minimize the impacts as best we could,” said Mountain Home District Ranger Adriene Holcomb in the press release. “Cutting down, yarding and hauling trees can be hazardous work, and our contractors must be given the time and space to do their job safely.” More area, trail and road closures will begin on May 12 and be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, allowing for weekday evening and all weekend use, the press release said. Closures will then be adjusted as work progresses through 2028 to minimize impact on recreation users, according to the
Forest Service. Updates will be posted to the Boise National Forest’s alerts website and the forest’s Facebook page. According to the Forest Service, trails that will have partial or full closures at times during the project include Boise Ridge Road Trail, Eastside, Sweet Connie, DB Connector, Freddy’s Stack Rock, Pat’s, Mr. Big, Ponderosa Pine Overlook and Sinker Creek. Trail closures will be kept up to date on the Ridge to Rivers Interactive Trails Map
website. “As someone who uses trails regularly, I get that these short-term closures can be frustrating. However, the long-term advantages of a more fire-resilient forest and safer trails make the temporary inconvenience worthwhile,” said Bogus Basin General Manager Brad Wilson in the press
release. The project tackles two forest health needs within the area’s wildland urban interface. “First, removing built-up vegetation will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and be an asset to
any future firefighting efforts,” the press release said. “Second, the prioritized removal of Douglas-fir will decrease the area’s susceptibility to dwarf mistletoe infection and bark beetle mortality specific to that species. Ponderosa pine will largely be left standing, which are more fire tolerant and less susceptible to the insects and pathogens present in the area.” The project is part of the Forest Service’s Sinker Creek – Boise Ridge Forest Health Project and Bogus Basin Forest Health Project decisions. Funds generated from the commercial timber sale will be used to fund landscape restoration during the project, including road reconstruction and improved stream habitat, according to the Forest Service. Non-commercial tree thinning and ponderosa pine planting are planned for a future phase of the
project, the press release said. The Deer Point Forest Stewardship Project is a continuation of similar active forest management projects led by the Boise National Forest to improve forest health and protect the wildland urban interface in the Boise Foothills. Recent projects include the 315-acre
Bogus Basin Forest Health Project and the 43-acre Aldape Good Neighbor Authority Project completed in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Lands. For more information, call the Mountain Home Ranger District at 208-587-7961.
|
