Bend, Ore. – The Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District on the Deschutes National Forest is inviting the public to comment on a proposal to thin overstory trees (primarily lodgepole pine) infected by insects and disease and remove dead fuels to reduce fire hazards within the Newberry Caldera.
The Shield Insect and Disease Project proposes to address both forest health and visitor safety in heavily-used developed recreation sites within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument approximately 20 miles east of La Pine, OR. The 2,938 acre project seeks to identify overstory trees showing signs of future failure from diseases like gall rust in addition to trees susceptible to, or already damaged by, insect infestations.
The project proposes to minimize the impacts of insects and disease through small tree thinning, pile burning, mowing, mastication and chipping to reduce fuels and improve public safety within the developed recreation sites in the caldera while maintaining and enhancing ecosystem diversity.
Removing trees at risk, primarily lodgepole pine, and encouraging the development of longer lived species such as white fir and hemlock will accelerate the development of mid to late successional species, making these sites more resistant to insects and diseases into the future.
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