Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit officials want the public’s input until April 28 about its plan to remove hazardous trees and plant seedlings in the Emerald Fire area. 

The fire last fall off Highway 89 burned about 175 acres, with 96 of those acres on federal land.

The goal is to restore habitat for various animals and provide benefits to the watershed, while providing a more fire resilient landscape.

Few trees remain and given the large number of shrubs that existed prior to the fire, it is expected that the shrubs would grow quickly, posing a challenge for natural seedlings to survive the competition, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Planting seedlings early would increase the chance that they will become established before the brush grows back, which would significantly increase the chance that trees will re-establish in this area.

The LTBMU proposes to plant native seedlings on approximately 10 acres as early as this May and 50 acres in 2018. Prior to the planting, removal of hazard trees would occur in all planting locations.

The proposed plan is online.