Story Fuels Project Meeting

A public meeting on a proposed project in the Story area will take place later this month. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

Bighorn National Forest Tongue District Ranger Amy Ormseth has planned a community discussion for the proposed Story Fuels Project for Tuesday, January 23 from 4 to 6 pm at the Story Volunteer Fire Station. According to information from the Forest Service, the proposed project is to open tree stands to reduce wildfire fuels by hand thinning and piling and prescribed burns.

The proposed project is west of Story on Forest Service land near the Federal boundary. Most of the proposed units were treated with hand thinning and piling or prescribed burning in the mid-2000’s. The project would revisit those treatments and an additional previously untreated unit. The project area is within a ponderosa pine ecosystem, which historically has a fire return interval of approximately 25 years. The proposed project is being analyzed under a categorical exclusion.  This analysis does not require a public scoping period; however, planners hope for input during the community discussion or any time prior to the project’s completion.

Please contact Bighorn National Forest fuels planner, Rochelle.plocek@usda.gov or Amy Ormseth, Tongue District Ranger, amy.ormseth@usda.gov with any questions.