1. Project detail

A proposed salvage project will address forest damage caused by the Lava Fire in west-central Idaho.

The Lava Fire Salvage Project proposes to “recover the economic value important to supporting restoration work in the dead and dying trees through salvage,” according to a Dec. 16 news release from the Payette National Forest. The project also aims to mitigate the threats from hazard trees affecting public safety within and adjacent to the Big Flat Campground.

The forest’s Council Ranger District is accepting public comments for 30 days.

Based on information gathered to date, it is anticipated that the project falls within a U.S. Forest Service exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act that allows for salvage of dead or dying trees, according to the release.

The Lava Fire burned 97,585 acres within the Payette and Boise national forests as well as on private land and lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the state of Idaho.

Lightning started the fire Sept. 2 about 12 miles southwest of Cascade.

Wood quality can degrade quickly following fire, and trees lose their value as lumber, so commercially viable harvest needs to occur as soon as possible, according to a project scoping summary.

The ranger district proposes to cut hazard trees in and adjacent to Big Flat Campground. Salvage units are within the existing units of the Little Weiser Forest Resilience Project signed in January 2021.

Proposed activities would start in winter or late spring, and are estimated to extend to fall 2025. The project would remove hazard and dead trees across 16 units on 250 acres, according to the scoping summary.

Ground-based logging systems would be used in some units. Skid trails and landings would be rehabilitated after use. A half mile of temporary road would be built.

The proposed action may include incidental removal of live or dead trees for landings, skid trails and road clearing for salvage operations, according to the scoping summary.

Information: supervisory forester Ryan Foster, 541-263-1944 or ryan.foster1@usda.gov.