Take a self-guided field trip into the Twisp Restoration Project to learn about proposed thinning prescriptions and how they could impaqt the forest.
Overview: The Twisp Restoration Project is a massive (77,000 acre) forest treatment plan in Twisp River drainages proposed by the US Forest Service. This project will determine forest practices in the Twisp River drainages for well over a decade and dramatically alter the landscape. It is a complex and multifaceted proposal being implemented in five separate phases. Simplifying, it includes:
- Fire risk reduction (commercial and non-commercial thinning, prescribed burns, and fuel breaks)
- Habitat improvement through commercial and non-commercial thinning, and other projects
- Salvage logging (really, commercial logging of burned trees)
- Stream projects to improve habitat for fish, and creation of some human-made beaver dams
- Opening ATV access on 22 miles of roads
- Building new roads and decommissioning 3x as many old roads
As you can see, there is something in the plan for everyone. There’s a lot to be interested in and a lot to be concerned about. This forest treatment plan’s unprecedented scale requires some time to fully understand how this will affect the ecological and recreation values we all cherish. To that end, MVCC has several concerns that have been highlighted in our commenting guidelines document, which you can view here.
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