CARSON CITY - Nevada forestry officials say plans to thin out dead and diseased trees from several national forests in the state should help improve the forests' overall health. John Christopherson, resource program manager, Nevada Division of Forestry, says 10 areas around the state have been approved for the treatment, explaining that the thinning should help combat damage from insects and disease that weakens forests and increases the risk of wildfire.
"It will certainly improve the health and vigor of the trees remaining after the treatment," Christopherson says. "It will make them more resistant to insect and disease attacks. And certainly, it will reduce the fire danger within the areas that have been treated."
Christopherson says the thinning will help overall forest health because fewer trees will be competing for the same amount of sunlight and water. Many trees are dead or dying from current or previous attacks by bark beetles. The areas to be treated are in Carson, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Humboldt, Washoe and White Pine counties.
Trees removed from the forest will be sold and reused whenever possible, he says. Otherwise, he adds, they will be stacked and burned when conditions permit.
"We're talking about a number of trees easily 1,000 trees or more on any of these areas," he explains. "And in all likelihood, it's probably a greater number, which is just an indication of how densely forested some of these areas are."
Christopherson says the projects are connected to a provision in the new Farm Bill that calls for similar treatment on more than 40 million acres of national forest land around the country.[[In-content Ad]]
