After nearly a year of planning and public involvement a record of decision for the King Fire Restoration Project signed. It is a modified version of the original proposed action.

“Balancing the goals for public safety, timber removal and fuels reduction with my goals for protection of wildlife habitat is a particularly difficult challenge given the complexity of a post-fire landscape of this size,” Laurence Crabtree, forest supervisor for the Eldorado National Forest, said in a press release. “I believe my decision is both responsive to the comments I received and achieves the broadest range of goals in order to best serve the public interest in the long term recovery of the King Fire area.”

The selected alternative will treat approximately 16,688 acres or 26 percent of the National Forest System lands that burned in the King Fire. It includes salvage and fuels treatments on 15,739 acres, roadside hazard tree removal along 198 miles of roads, erosion control and rehabilitation treatments on 227 acres of watershed sensitive areas, and reforestation on 10,609 acres. Approximately 2,100 acres of these treatments will involve future prescribed burning in the Rubicon Canyon.

Implementation of the project will begin this fall. The three initial timber sales will salvage dead trees from 2,035 acres several miles north of Stumpy Meadows Reservoir.