Forest to be thinned along Pope-Baldwin Bike Path and State Route 89

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will begin the mechanical removal of trees on 100 acres of forest lands along State Route 89 and the Pope-Baldwin Bike Path this week. The project should last until mid-October.

It is expected that USFS will issue a forest order temporarily closing the bike path to allow for tree removal, and the temporary closure is anticipated to last for approximately two weeks. When the project reaches that point they will post closure signs in the area as well as posting it ONLINE.

Thinning of trees reduces excess vegetation that can feed wildfires, provide defensible space to neighboring communities and improve forest health

Mechanical cut-to-length (CTL) tree removal involves using a harvester to cut the tree down, remove the limbs and cut the tree into sections in the cutting area.

For public safety, the Forest Service advises recreationists avoid these areas due to the hazards posed by heavy equipment and falling trees. Hazards may be present even when operations have ceased for the day.

In addition to temporary disruption to recreational areas, other short-term impacts from forest thinning projects include changes to the appearance of forests. Treated areas look disturbed at first, but recover visually within a few years. Overall benefits to forests in treated areas include reducing excess trees and vegetation that can feed wildfires and providing the remaining trees with less competition for resources such as water, sunlight and nutrients, which allow the trees to grow larger and become more resistant to drought, insects and disease.
This forest thinning is part of the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, which aims to treat approximately 10,000 acres on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe over the next few years.

For more information about the project, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/SouthShoreFuelReduction.