Thinning work continues near Basalt

Posted by egable on September 5th, 2008 filed in Forests, Wildlife, Fire

Crews from the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit began work this week on the second phase of the Light Hill Wildlife Habitat Improvement Project, which entails thinning about 20-acres of pinyon-juniper and oak brush on the south side of the project about two miles south of Basalt. The thinning is expected to be completed next month, and crews will create piles of cut branches and slash, which will be burned within the next two winters.

The project is a cooperative effort among the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Lower Colorado Habitat Partnership Program.

The thinning work helps set the stage for a 100-acre burn planned for the project this spring. This summer, about 375 acres of oak brush was mechanically cleared in the area.

“Light Hill is one of only five critical big game winter areas on public lands in the Roaring Fork Valley,” Kevin Wright, District Wildlife Manager for the Division of Wildlife in the Roaring Fork Valley, said in a statement. “We are creating openings in the thick mountain shrubs on Light Hill, which will stimulate plant production and greatly improve the deer and elk habitat.”

“An added bonus of this habitat work is the benefit of fuel reduction near communities in the area, such as Emma,” said BLM Fuels Specialist Ody Anderson. “The openings will help slow any wildfires that might ignite in the area. That gives firefighters a better a chance to stop an advancing fire, and it greatly enhances their safety. ”