Partial trail closure on the Valley Floor scheduled to begin June 9 for helicopter timber transportation operations
Beginning Monday, June 9, the Town of Mountain Village (TMV) forestry department is scheduled to remove standing dead and down trees from a swath of land on the north side of Mountain Village as part of its community-scale shaded fuel break initiative.
This work will involve a helicopter removing dead trees from areas that are otherwise inaccessible due to parcel boundary geography and the steepness of the slopes. Timber will be transported from the fuel treatment areas to the Valley Floor for habitat restoration activities along the San Miguel River.
This summer’s planned work will occur near and over National Forest System Trail #431 on the Valley Floor. The trail is south of the San Miguel River west of Boomerang Bridge to Highway 145 will be closed during helicopter operations. This trail closure is in partnership with the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests’ Norwood Ranger District to ensure public safety.
Helicopter operations are expected to begin Monday, June 9 (weather permitting) and will be carried out over a span of seven days between June 9 and July 31. Those dates are dependent upon weather and pilot availability.
The trail closures will only be in effect when the helicopter is operating. A map of the affected trail and alternate route is available at bit.ly/TMV25trailclosure.
Helicopter work and trail closure updates will be posted on social media by TMV, the GMUG and other local agencies. Notices will also be sent via text message to those signed up for Public Safety notices through TMV’s ReadyOp system.
To sign up for those notices, please visit: bit.ly/MVNotifications.
Signs, barricades and staff will be placed along the affected trail to prevent access to the area when the helicopter is in the air.
The transported timber will be staged on the Valley Floor to be utilized for a habitat restoration project in preparation for the upcoming habitat restoration work by the U.S. Forest Service and Trout Unlimited. The restoration work is scheduled to begin later this summer.
