Helicopter logging operations are now active in the Mount Elden and Dry Lake Hills FWPP project area. Markit! Forestry Management, the contractor responsible for managing all of the helicopter logging work, has moved crews and equipment into the project area. Ground crews have been engaged in preparation work, and hand-felling operations within the helicopter cutting units have started.

Logging equipment will be active along the Shultz Pass and Mt. Elden Lookout Road area. The primary helicopter landing and service area will be located off the Mt. Elden Lookout Road, behind the locked forest service gate, on Coconino National Forest land. This road is closed for the winter season; please do not enter the area due to the active helicopter operations and for public and operator safety. Noise and visible activity created by the helicopter flight operations will be present in this area starting in mid-January and lasting through late spring.

The helicopter flight operations will be visible in the area as the helicopter lifts and transports bundles of felled trees from the project area to established landing sites. The helicopter operations will occur during daylight hours, seven days a week, and for three to five months depending on operational conditions.

As the helicopter and other FWPP forest thinning work progresses, forest closure areas restricting public access into the Mount Elden and Dry Lake Hills area will be implemented. This will include areas along the Mount Elden Lookout Road, and portions of popular trails like the Rocky Ridge and Oldham trails. These areas closures will change as operations progress, and will be strictly enforced. Please respect all closures, and do not approach logging machinery, helicopters, or heavy equipment at any time. Be Smart, Be Safe! Please visit the FWPP website for project updates, and join our project email list to receive the most current information.

FWPP has some exciting news to report this winter! The Phase I portion of FWPP is coming to a close and Dakota Logging has done an excellent job thinning the Elden Base project area. The FWPP Phase II portion of the project is beginning to come online, and work in the Steep Slope areas has already begun. For more details on the completed work in FWPP Phase I, the ongoing work in Phase II, and an outlook for work to come over the next six to twelve months; please read our December 2018 update: FWPP Progress Update December 2018

Additionally, please take a minute to read this recent article on the importance of forest thinning and watershed protection efforts in and around the Flagstaff area: FWPP is an investment. As the threat of large and destructive wildfires continues to increase across the West, so do the threats here in our beloved City. While Flagstaff residents take a moment to enjoy winter and a break from fire season, fire managers and FWPP project staff at the City of Flagstaff and on the Coconino National Forest are already planning forest thinning projects, and preparing for wildland fire response for the upcoming 2019 fire season.

Last week, the Flagstaff Fire Department held a two-day firewood giveaway for area residents.  The free firewood was seasoned pine cut last year by the Dept’s Wildland Fire Crew on two sites on the City-owned Observatory Mesa Open Space parcel.

Forest thinning on Observatory Mesa is part of the on-going voter-approved Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project, designed to reduce the threat of damaging wildfire and flooding into the community.

This year’s event drew a record crowd.  In all, a total of 627 people, in over 350 vehicles, removed over 300  cords of wood from the two sites.  It’s estimated that over 70% of the wood was headed to the Hopi and Navajo Reservations.

“We’re extremely pleased to provide this free wood” said Paul Summerfelt, the City’s Manager for the Watershed Project.  Since the Project began in 2013, over 3,200 cords of firewood have been distributed in the fall giveaways.

Dakota Logging, the contractor for FWPP Phase I mechanical thinning operations, is moving swiftly through the project area. Due to the continued progress, the Coconino National Forest has issued several new trail closures including portion of the Lower Oldham, Rocky Ridge, and Arizona Trails.

Please see the link below for a detailed map of the project area and trail closures. Please follow the closure signs posted in the area. Thank you for the continued support as FWPP, the City of Flagstaff, and the Coconino National Forest work to create a safe, and ecologically resilient forest and watershed!

Detailed map: FWPP Area and Trail Closures 10_12_2018

Since the Coconino National Forest lifted fire restrictions in mid July, FWPP has wasted no time getting to work. Dakota Logging, the FWPP logging contractor for  the Phase 1 Elden Base area has been working swiftly to mechanically thin trees and reduce the threat of severe wildfire and post fire flood impacts. Due to the ongoing progress, additional trails in the area have been temporarily closed for the public’s safety. Please see this map for updated trail and project area closures: FWPP Trail Closures 8_15

While Dakota Logging is hard at work, the American Conservation Experience (ACE) has been conducting hand thinning operation in the Dry Lake Hills in the area around Brookbank Meadow. The ACE crew is hand thinning small diameter “ladder fuel” trees in an effort to reduce the risk of severe fire and flooding. The links below contain several pictures that show what each thinning method looks like once complete. Take a look!

Hand thinning: ACE Thinning Progress in FWPP Dry Lake Hills 8_15

Mechanical thinning: FWPP Phase 1 Mechanical Thinning Progress 8_15_18