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U.S. Forest Service
News Release
Media Contact: Bob Blasi
New 4FRI Timber Sale Projects Starting on Williams Ranger District
Williams, Ariz., Feb. 8, 2017—For Immediate Release. Timber and silviculture staff on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest have begun laying out two new timber sale projects located south of Interstate 40 between
Forest Road 141 near Bootlegger Crossing and Forest Road 62 in the Garland Prairie area.
The areas to be harvested are part of the 3347-acre Beacon Hill and Mineral Springs timber sale projects which have been designated as part of the ongoing Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) effort. Active forest restoration work
will begin once the contract has been awarded, which is expected sometime in 2018. In the meantime, residents and visitors to the area can expect to see trees and internal boundaries marked with orange paint, which will eventually serve as visual guidance
to the contractor regarding Forest Service expectations for treatment. A portion of the tree marking operations will take place on national forest land that borders private property. Land owners in these areas may notice an increased number of Forest Service personnel and vehicles in the area over the next
few months while tree marking operations are completed. The objectives for treating these areas are to reduce fuel loading and the potential for future high-intensity wildfires and to improve wildlife habitat and overall forest health.
The goal of the 4FRI is to accelerate the pace and scale of restoration within 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona and to increase resilience and proper functioning. Restoring this fire-adapted ecosystem is accomplished
with a suite of restoration activities from watershed maintenance and habitat improvements to thinning and prescribed burning. Other timber sales projects around the Bill Williams Mountain area have been temporarily shut-down due to saturated soils but are expected to recommence as conditions dry out. For more specific information about these and other current restoration projects ongoing on the district contact Josh Giles at 928-635-5616 Additional information on the Kaibab National Forest can be found at
www.fs.usda.gov/Kaibab, and regarding 4FRI at
www.fs.usda.gov/4fri. You can also follow us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/KaibabNF/ and Twitter
twitter.com/kaibabnf as we may provide updates/photos through those sources in the future.
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Attachment:
Beacon Hill_Mineral Springs Timber Sale News Release Final 02_08_17.pdf
Description: Beacon Hill_Mineral Springs Timber Sale News Release Final 02_08_17.pdf
