SISTERS, OR -- Plans are in motion for a major restoration project in the Green Ridge area, near Sisters. Lauren Durocher, Sister Ranger District Environmental Coordinator, says the draft plan just released Tuesday includes more than 19,000 acres of thinning, mowing, prescribed burning and other treatments. It also authorizes restoration of cottonwood and aspen stands.
It's part of a broader effort by the Forest Service, "We’re looking at this 10-year wildfire crisis plan to promote resiliency on the landscape," Durocher tells KBND News, "And this project really ties into that, to promote that resiliency against large-scale wildfire, large-scale disease outbreaks."
Tuesday's release starts a 45-day clock for filing objections. Durocher says the latest draft includes revisions made after hearing early concerns from the public, "The Green Ridge Project Area overlaps with Northern Spotted Owl habitat, as well as mule deer habitat. And so we learned from various interested publics about their concerns about how this project would affect those wildlife species."
The 25,000-acre Green Ridge area is about 13 miles north of Sisters. Durocher says with the official draft release, things move pretty quickly, "We’re expecting in the fall of 2022 we should have that final decision in hand, and we’ll be starting that preparation for getting that work done on the ground." That work is then expected to begin in the summer of 2023. More details are available on the USFS website.
