Sheep Creek Restoration Project

Posted by on March 7, 2020
NWTRA-WWNF-Sheep-Creek-2020Download
The La Grande Ranger District of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is proposing a forest restoration project in the Chicken Hill/Sheep Creek area of the Winom-Frazier OHV Complex.
The Sheep Creek project area contains approximately 30,000 acres within the Chicken Creek and Sheep Creek Subwatersheds located in Union County approximately 22 air miles southwest of La Grande. The project area encompasses a portion of the Blue Springs Wildland Urban Interface along with parts of the Winom-Frazier off-highway vehicle trail network and Sheep Ranch Allotment. The proposal includes approximately 3,000 acres of commercial timber harvest and 9,000 acres of non-commercial thinning, including follow-up treatments such as post-harvest understory removal, piling, and burning. In addition, 9,500 acres of prescribed burning is proposed across 12 natural fuels burn blocks. The District would need access to approximately 4 miles of temporary road to facilitate harvest activities.
Working with NWTRA, project managers have developed specific plans for the areas effecting current OHV trails and potential future additional routes. These will not be created trails, but rather re-use of existing older multiuse routes.
NWTRA has reviewed the presented plans and has written a letter to comment on this at the letter link at the top of this page.
For more information please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=57625 to learn more. If you have additional questions, you may contact the District Ranger, Bill Gamble, at 541-962-8582 or email bill.gamble@usda.gov. For a hard copy of the scoping letter or other proposal documents, please contact Brianna Carollo at 541-962-8588, via email brianna.carollo@usda.gov, or in person at the La Grande Ranger District office. The District proposes this project with the intent of adjusting actions based on public input. Your comments will help identify potential issues associated with the proposal and shape the alternatives analyzed. The District welcomes comments at any time; however, they are most helpful if received early. The District must receive written comments by March 16, 2020 for commenters who wish to participate in the future objection process. Please email your comments to comments-pacificnorthwest-wallowa-whitman-lagrande@usda.gov, or you can submit hardcopy comments to Bill Gamble, District Ranger, La Grande Ranger District, 3502 Hwy 30, La Grande, OR 97850.

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