SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. May 30, 2017 – The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week on the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration project. Mechanical whole tree removal will take place near Fallen Leaf Campground along Fallen Leaf Road off State Route 89. The public is asked to avoid this area during operations (see map below). The South Shore Fuels Reduction project authorizes thinning of trees and brush on National Forest lands on the south end of the Lake Tahoe Basin to reduce the risk of severe wildfire and create healthier forests.
Mechanical whole tree removal involves cutting the entire tree and moving it to the landing area to remove the limbs and cut it into sections. The Forest Service recommends that the public avoid this area due to the hazards posed by heavy equipment and falling trees. Hazards may be present even when operations have ceased for the day.
Work in this area will stop around July 1, 2017, and any unfinished work will resume after Labor Day.
In addition to temporary closures of recreational areas, other short-term impacts from fuels reduction projects include changes to the appearance of basin forests. Treated areas look disturbed at first, but recover visually within a few years. Overall benefits to forests in treated areas include reducing fuel for wildfires and providing the remaining trees with less competition for resources such as water, sunlight and nutrients, which allow the trees to grow larger and become more resistant to drought, insects and disease.
To learn more about the project, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/ltbmu/SouthShoreFuelReduction.