Beginning next week, those in and around the Reservoir Hill area will hear the sound of hot saws cutting and the chipper chipping as a long-awaited forest thinning project commences.
Nearly a year ago, the Town of Pagosa Springs announced their intent to begin work on the thinning project on Reservoir Hill to improve forest health.
According to Town Manager Greg Schulte, “The original intent was to conduct the thinning back in winter of 2014/2015. However, due to the lack of snow and cold temperatures, the thinning was deferred to this winter. The winter snow and cold temperatures enables us to minimize the impact to the grounds.”
The project was set in motion after the Mountain Studies Institute, acting as the fiscal agent for the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, applied for and received $63,531 worth of grant money in late 2014 from the Colorado State Forest Service to help improve forest conditions on Reservoir Hill.
The forest thinning project is a collaborative effort with the Town of Pagosa Springs, the Forest Health Company LLC, and the Southwest Conservation Corps, and it will involve thinning 40 acres of the forest on Reservoir Hill using mechanized equipment on gentle-to-moderate slopes, as well as hand-thinning on steeper slopes.
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