fill Latest Okanogan, Washington, weather fill
fill Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle, serving North Central Washington from Omak since 1910 Follow us on  twitter facebook fill
 
THIS WEEK'S
FRONT PAGES

Posted: Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 11:39 a.m. PDT
Tripod salvage comment deadline moved to July 16
     The deadline for comments on the draft environmental impact statement for Tripod Fire salvage has been extended a week, to July 16, according to an announcement from the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.
     Forest officials said the draft EIS is available for review and comment. It analyzes the impacts of salvage harvesting, replanting trees and removing roadside danger trees in a portion of the forest burned during last summer's Tripod Complex Fire.
     Lightning storms in July 2006 ignited the Spur and Tripod fires, which eventually burned together and became the Tripod Complex Fire. That fire burned more than 175,000 acres, about 163,000 acres of it within the Methow Valley and Tonasket ranger districts of the Okanogan National Forest.
     About 2,700 acres of the 38,278-acre salvage project area are proposed for commercial harvest, according to forest officials.
     Analysis for the Tripod fire salvage and the east Tripod fuels reduction projects began before the fire was declared out.
     "Harvest units from the 300-acre east Tripod fuels reduction project were offered for sale this winter," said Mark Morris, Tonasket district ranger. "The east Tripod fuels reduction project required winter logging though, and there were no buyers who felt they could complete the project this winter so it didn't sell."
     East Tripod fire salvage units were incorporated into the Tripod Fire salvage project.
     The project will recover the economic value of a proportion of dead trees and fire-injured trees expected to die within one year on about 2,700 acres, according to forest officials.
     Removing fire-killed and damaged trees through salvage logging will provide saw timber and other wood products to local and regional economies, according to the Forest Service announcement. Both ground based and skyline logging are included within the proposed project.
     Areas with high soil damage, old growth habitat, suitable lynx habitat and riparian habitat conservation areas will be excluded from salvage harvest. Inventoried roadless areas and areas with undeveloped characteristics that are adjacent to inventoried roadless areas will not be salvage harvested.
     To improve public safety for forest road users, danger trees will be felled along about 50 miles of open roads within the project area, according to the proposal.
     The project also will include planting native tree seedlings within salvage harvest units that do not have a sufficient seed source to ensure adequate and timely regeneration.
     The draft EIS is online at www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/projects.
     A public meeting for answering questions and taking comments on the draft EIS is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at the Winthrop Barn.
     Comments may be e-mailed to comments-pacificnorthwest-okanogan-methowvalley@fs.fed.us or sent to the Methow Valley Ranger District, attention John Newcom, district ranger, 24 W. Chewuch Road, Winthrop 98862.
     More information is available from Bob Stoehr, interdisciplinary team leader at 996-4003.
 
  NEWS HEADLINES
Heath named to lead Okanogan and Wenatchee forests
Four wastewater plans win state recognition
Republic sends 33 seniors into the world
Oroville commencement is June 2
Okanogan seniors plan outdoor ceremonies June 2
Tribe seeks junk vehicles for crushing cleanup program
Okanogan Highlands Alliance challenges mine EIS
Comments sought on draft EIS for proposed hatchery
Boaters rescued after craft sinks in Lake Roosevelt
Pre-agility dog training class planned
Omak man injured in accident near Nespelem
Dozens of local offices are up for grabs
Organic acreage rises nearly 50 percent in two years
Wind-whipped fire sweeps across Riverside rangeland, destroys two buildings
Tripod salvage comment deadline moved to July 16
Omak Airport gets grant for taxiway, parking rehabs
Ferry commissioners get draft agreement for rail corridor
Tunk cemetery group holds cleanup day
 

newspaper for ad Get all your Okanogan County news and sports coverage delivered to you for only 54 cents a week.
 Legal Considerations
The Chronicle respects your right to privacy. Please read our privacy policy for details concerning our use of customer information.

All contents copyright © 1999-2010, The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle, Omak, WA 98841, owned and operated by Eagle Newspapers Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
 
fill fill fill
Sunrise Chevrolet
Visit Remax Lake and Country
Visit Gene's Home-Owned Grocery in Omak, Washington
Visit the Breadline Cafe in Omak, Washington
MyCapture photo buying online
Visit Fogle Pump and Supply
Visit John L. Scott Realty
Chronicle Business and Service Directory