Prescott National Forest has partnered with the Highlands Center For Natural History (HCNH) to begin implementing a multi-year fuels reduction, forest health and wildlife habitat improvement plan on their 80 acre special use permit area. Work on the Highlands Center will begin about October 20th and will go until October 31st.
The first phase of this project includes hand thinning trees, followed by chipping or piling of materials to reduce hazardous fuels on approximately 30 to 40 acres located immediately adjacent to HCNH facilities. The actual thinning and chipping work will be completed by a Student Conservation Association Military Veteran’s Crew and supervised by fire personnel from the Prescott National Forest. The purpose of this first round of treatments is two-fold; 1st) to protect the investment and infrastructure associated with the buildings at the Highlands Center and 2nd) to provide an opportunity for interpretation and education of forest management practices up close and personal.
Funds for implementing the treatments were made possible by a recent Yavapai County Resource Advisory Committee grant. The goal of the plan is to improve forest health while creating an education land-lab where the effects of multiple treatment options can be observed and interpreted to a wide variety of learners over an extended period of time. Because the permit area for the HCNH sits on Prescott National Forest land, the plan for the Center was included in the analysis for the Bradshaw Vegetation Management Project completed last year. More information about the next phases of the Bradshaw Vegetation Project and the Highlands Center plan will be presented on January 23, 2015 at the HCNH.
For information on the progress of the treatments at the Highlands Center visit their web site at http://highlandscenter.org/.
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