Reporter for The Canyon Weekly
The United States Forest Service has prepared a new environmental assessment of how to deal with burned trees along Willamette National Forest roads.
A U.S. District Court injunction in November 2021 against USFS plans led officials to create a new environmental assessment.
The public has until July 18 to offer comments on the new draft plan. Here is how to participate:
Online: Go to www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61749. Select the “Comment on Project” link in the “Get Connected” group at the right-hand side of the webpage.
Email: Put 2020 Fire Affected Road System Risk Reduction Project in the subject line and send to [email protected]
Mailed or hand-delivered: Willamette National Forest Supervisor’s Office, Attn: 2020 Fire Affected Road System Risk Reduction Project, 3106 Pierce Parkway Suite D, Springfield, OR, 97477.
More than 570,000 acres of land in private, state and federal jurisdictions burned in the 2020 Beachie Creek, Lionshead and Holiday Farm fires, including 176,000 acres in the Willamette National Forest.
Willamette National Forest officials, in the draft environmental assessment, are calling for removal of killed and fire-damaged trees within 100 feet of about 253 miles of forest roads on a combined 4,450 acres of land. The roads are in Marion, Linn and Lane counties.
Forest officials say their chief concerns are restoring access to and through the burned areas.
Key risks to be managed include public and forest worker safety, the ability to use the roads, firefighter access to new fires, usability of potential evacuation routes, hazardous fuel loads, the functionality of roads as potential fire control lines and road infrastructure damage and failures.
After collecting and reviewing the public comments the USFS will then release a draft decision notice sometime later this year.
To view the draft environmental assessment and other documents on fire recovery work on
Willamette National Forest roads go to .
