News: Little Naches Upland Restoration – Public comment invited

Naches, WA (March 1, 2022) – The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has released the Little Naches Uplands Restoration project draft environmental assessment for public review. Forest conditions in the project area need proactive management to be wildfire resilient and to restore healthy ecological function. The planning area is located 40 miles northwest of Naches, WA in Yakima County on national forest.

“Our communities and collaborative partners are all deeply invested in restoring this diverse landscape,” Naches District Ranger Aaron Stockton said. “Thousands of acres across the Little Naches are in need of active restoration to be more resilient to wildfire and improve the health of streams and forests for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and Forest users.”

“The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has been working in the Little Naches river valley for the last decade, in partnership with the Tapash Sustainable Forest Collaborative and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation,” Stockton said. “Through close coordination and cooperation, our partners and neighboring landowners seek collaborative solutions, planned and implemented at the landscape scale. The Little Naches Upland Restoration project continues the restoration activities planned and implemented through the Huckleberry Restoration Project and the Little Crow Restoration Project.”

The draft environmental assessment is now available for review and public comment. The proposal includes vegetation management and fuels treatments through commercial and non-commercial thinning and pile burning to enhance forest growth and reduce fuels to mitigate wildfire risk. There are 8020 acres of treatments proposed to move the landscape towards a more resilient condition, restoring structure and composition to Matrix and late-successional habitats. In addition, proposed actions to the road and trail system will reduce the impacts from roads on aquatic and wildlife species, as well as maintain trail access.

We welcome your participation during the scoping period and look forward to your thoughts on the draft environmental assessment which can be viewed at the project website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58517. Comments can also be submitted via the project page and must be postmarked no later than March 28, 2022.

An interactive storymap of the project area and proposed transportation system changes are available in the project Story Map at: https://tinyurl.com/mr4xnabc

For Further Information about the project contact Jamey Basye, Project Lead, at 509-852-1062 or [email protected]. The final environmental assessment and draft Decision Notice are expected in the summer of 2022, with implementation to follow in the fall of 2022.

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Photograph: This photo from September 21, 2022 provides an example of the types of logging operations that are planned for the Little Naches Uplands project. In the background machine operators from 7 Arrows Logging out of White Swan, WA running a processer to delimb logs and pile slash. In the forefront a log loader is used to load and stack logs onto log trucks on the Finn DxP timber sale. This timber sale was offered under the Little Crow Restoration project located in the Little Naches area on the Naches Ranger District. Credit: USDA photo by Brooke Freitas, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest-South Zone Forestry Technician

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.