The National Park Service plans to implement a fuels reduction project in Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit.
This project will remove Rocky Mountain juniper that has encroached upon eastern cottonwood galleries along the Little Missouri River near Peaceful Valley Ranch and Cottonwood Campground. Work will begin April 1, 2019 and continue intermittently through spring 2020.
Juniper thinning will improve cottonwood survival by reducing competition and removing unnatural fuels. The project will include hand cutting the trees. The cut trees will be moved into piles by hand and with tracked equipment. Piles will be given time to cure and then be burned in place when conditions allow.
An excellent source of fire information specific to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the Northern Great Plains can be found at www.nps.gov/ngpfire/thro.htm.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
