The burn is part of the Ponderosa Restoration Project, which is located about 10 miles east of Kamas and concerns preserving the genetic diversity of the ponderosa pine.
Utah’s Dollar Ridge Fire in 2018 was an ominous knock at the door for water supply managers trying to keep water flowing to a million residents.
That fire led them to invest in a $28 million upgrade to the Duchesne Valley Treatment Plant after debris and sediment washed into Starvation Reservoir.
“We were able to treat the quality of water, but it brought to our attention another process that would be more protective,” said Tom Bruton, assistant general manager of the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, explaining various filtration systems. Related
An Interior Department report notes that 80% of the nation’s water supply originates on forested lands areas that are under increasing assault due to catastrophic wildfires that especially plague the West and threaten water quality.
Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service
Forest officials announced they would burn about 30 acres in coming weeks near the Mirror Lake Highway to preserve one of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache Forest’s only native Ponderosa Pine stands.
Crews will torch thick undergrowth near the pines, including juniper and lodgepole pines, according to a prepared statement from the U.S. Forest Service. The stand is near the highway east of Kamas between the Lower Provo overlook and the Soapstone Basin turnoff. The goal is to preserve the genetic diversity of the trees and reduce the risk of wildfire near the roadway.
It is one of several projects happening in the forest that aim to reduce the risk of wildfires or improve the health of rivers.