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In a recent press release from the United States Forest Service (USFS), it was announced that the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project for Medicine Bow National Forest has been released. The release of the DEIS provides yet another opportunity for the public to provide input on the project, which will encompass over 300,000 acres of the Medicine Bow National Forest for the next 10 to 15 years. Comment period on the Medicine Bow...
In the past, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has been focused on site-specific projects in one area with the whole process taking approximately 1 to 2 years before implementation can begin. The Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project changes that with the use of what is called “condition-based NEPA.” This is something that Leanne Correll, the NEPA Coordinator for the Saratoga, Encampment and Rawlins Conservation District (SERCD), is excited to be a part of. “The NEPA proce...
When the Landscape Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project was first conceived, it was understood by the United States Forest Service (USFS) something of this scale would require partnerships across multiple agencies. From other federal agencies, like Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to state agencies, like the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). Katie Cheesbrough, the terrestrial habitat biologist for WGFD, is just one of several people involved in the project. Cheesbrough is getting ready to...
"In my lifetime as a silviculturist, the stuff I'm doing now, I will not see that stand in my lifetime." While many people might have a five-year-plan or a 10-year-plan, Joshua Peck has to have a 100-year-plan. That's because Peck works at the Brush Creek/Hayden Ranger District for the US Forest Service (USFS) as its silviculturist. To put it plainly, his job is timber management. "I really like to see management happen and I like to see healthy forests. I enjoy being out in the woods on my...
In July 2017, the United States Forest Service (USFS) began planning for the Landscape and Vegetation Analysis (LaVA) project in response to the mountain pine beetle and spruce bark beetle epidemics that plagued the Medicine Bow National Forest (MBNF) for nearly 20 years. The regeneration of the MBNF may be taking its natural course, but the LaVA project is aimed at helping accelerate that process. “We’re really looking at the restoration aspect of this and resiliency piece,” said Frank Romer...