USFS looking for input on Incline thinning project

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is proposing to thin trees and brush on National Forest System lands near Incline Village to reduce wildfire risk and restore forest health.

The LTBMU is seeking public input on the Incline Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project until Nov. 28.

The project area includes 3,927 acres of National Forest System lands on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe, from the California-Nevada state line to Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.

The proposed work would provide defensible space for nearby communities while reducing the risk of wildfire and its impacts to commercial, private and public property. The project would also reduce tree density to improve the health of remaining trees and restore vegetation such as aspen, alder, willow and meadow grasses and shrubs by removing encroaching conifer trees.

Work would consist of hand and mechanical cutting of brush and trees, which would then be removed for biomass, chipped, masticated, or piled for prescribed burning. Piles would be burned approximately one to three years later, once the fuels are dry. Work would begin as early as fall 2012 and could take three to five years to complete.

The proposed action and a map of the project area are available at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Forest Supervisor’s office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, or online.

For more information, contact Duncan Leao at (530) 543.2600 or Paul Guarnaccia at (530) 543.2898 or email comments-pacificsouthwest-ltbmu@fs.fed.us using the subject: Incline Project.