EDGEFIELD, S.C. – The National Wild Turkey Federation is proud to announce the introduction of three Forest Stewardship Projects (FSP) under the direction of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) in USDA Forest Service Region 2, covering Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. These projects are grouped into a regional Special Project Agreement (SPA), granting the NWTF authority to administer and contract projects on Forest Service system lands.
The WCS projects in Region 2 are designed to reduce wildfire threats to communities and critical infrastructure, enhance forest health and improve wildlife habitat. This initiative aligns with the NWTF’s Four Shared Values: clean water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities.
The projects currently under agreement in Region 2 include:
- Blondie and Cheap Trick FSP in the Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming.
- Cottonwood FSP in the White River National Forest, Colorado.
- First Notch FSP in the San Juan National Forest, Colorado.
“The projects in Region 2 are critical to maintaining current sawmilling infrastructure and increasing workforce capacity, which is important for restoring forests and reducing wildfire threat,” said Brian Russell, NWTF Wildfire Crisis coordinator for Region 2.
The first project to be rolled out under the Region 2 SPA is the Blondie and Cheap Trick FSP within Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest. This project marks the NWTF’s inaugural stewardship project within this national forest. A project pre-bid tour was hosted by the NWTF, with assistance from the Bighorn Forest staff, on June 27. Fourteen prospective bidders from Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and South Dakota attended this tour to review the project scope of work and requirements. Attendees included potential timber purchasers and contractors.
The Blondie and Cheap Trick FSP will treat 536 acres to enhance forest health by diversifying age class in a decadent lodgepole pine forest, enhancing wildlife habitat for big game ungulates (such as deer and elk), reducing wildfire threat and increasing water yields to the Sheridan Municipal Watershed. This project is part of the larger Sheridan Municipal Watershed Environmental Assessment (E.A.), which encompasses up to 15,000 acres of treatments including non-commercial thinning, commercial timber harvest and aspen and riparian area restoration. Additional projects under the E.A. will also focus on road maintenance and recreation infrastructure improvements, with many more projects planned to treat additional acres in the future.
“I am excited to see the Blondie and Cheap Trick FSP move forward,” Russell said. “I look forward to working with the USFS forests in Region 2 to expedite work that is critical to reducing the threat of wildfires to our communities and infrastructure, while also maintaining workforce capacity and industry.”
The Cottonwood and First Notch projects in Colorado will begin at a later date once details are finalized.
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