A project that is part of the Vernal Municipal Watershed Restoration Project is underway.
“Work has begun to create a fuel break 300 feet in depth along both sides of the Red
Cloud Loop Road from the turn off to Ashley Twin Lakes to the turn off to Trout Creek
Guard Station,” shares Ashley National Forest. “This fuel break will limit future wildland
fire by reducing the number of trees and vegetation, improving safety for both firefighters
and the public. This treatment will masticate, often called chipping, trees and woody
debris using a mulching head attachment on an excavator type machine.” The work is
located within the Ashley Karst National Recreation and Geologic Area which contains
karst features that capture surface water and transport water through a series of
underground cave systems to springs in the valley below. The project is expected to run
through October.
