Crossons-Longview Forest Restoration Environmental Assessment
Project Summary
Completion Date: September 2015
Partners
US Forest Service
JW Associates completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) through Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) authority for the South Platte Ranger District of the Pike National Forest. The Crossons-Longview Forest Restoration Environmental Assessment will improve the health of the forest and increase its resiliency to catastrophic, high intensity wildfire, insect epidemics and disease.
Benefits of the project include:
Reduce the potential of catastrophic, high-intensity wildfire with uncontrollable fire behavior, such as active crown fire.
Reduce the potential that a wildfire would negatively affect public water supplies from subsequent severe flooding and sedimentation.
Improve forest health, vigor, and resilience to large-scale fire, insects and disease.
Enhance wildlife habitat through the reduction of the potential for catastrophic wildfires, enhancement of shrublands and aspen habitat, and Pawnee montane skipper habitat.
Increase recreational opportunities in an area which receives high recreation demand locally and from the Denver Metropolitan Area.
Proposed Actions
Treatment of approximately 11,700 acres to restore the montane forest ecosystem towards historic conditions.
Treatment areas contain Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, mixed conifer, Lodgepole pine, aspens and shrublands.
Outcome of Project
Scoping (including 2 scoping meetings)
Development and refinement of the proposed action, and issues and alternatives.
Writing of Environmental Assessment, including management of the drafting and revising of 8 specialist reports, including the Biological Evaluation/Biological Evaluation Assessment
The Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant Impact has been signed and the project is being implemented.