Logging and Forest Mitigation

Beetle Kill timber removal in Vail, Colorado. This was a helicopter logging job that was done in the fall of 2006.  Article from Vail Daily news paper.

Helicopters complete operation to fly downed timber out of forest.

October 6, 2006

VAIL – A helicopter operation to fly downed timber from forest enhancement work in the Vail area was completed early on Thursday, saving the town approximately $100,000 to be used for other forest-health projects. The timber project involved the removal of downed trees on both forest and town land that were part of pine beetle mitigation and wildfire fuel-reduction work. The project was originally slated to be complete today.

Despite some inclement weather, HeliQuest International of Montrose flew approximately 83 trees per hour from of the area above Westhaven Drive and Greenhill Court. HeliQuest began flying the trees out of the steep areas on Monday, eventually netting 2,107 trees by early Thursday afternoon.

The timber already had been cut on approximately nine acres of town-owned land and seven acres of forest land last month. The helicopter company was hired by the town to remove the timber because much of the area was inaccessible to logging equipment. Additionally, the removal by helicopter minimized disturbance to the hillside.

"This was a showcase project," said White River National Forest Supervisor Maribeth Gustafson. "We are fortunate to have partners such as Vail that have the ability to bring their resources to bear on an important project such as this. With Vail's resources, we were able to act expediently in such a way that was light on the land."

The project was part of a collaboration among the U.S. Forest Service, the Colorado State Forest Service and the town of Vail. The trees, which were flown to a designated area on the upper bench of Donovan Park, will now be hauled by K&K Lumber to their logging mill in Silt. The remaining limbs and tree tops in the area will be piled for a prescribed burning, to be scheduled later this fall when conditions are optimal. The burn will be managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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