Forest Health Project to Begin Near Bogus Basin

The Boise National Forest is beginning the Deer Point Forest Stewardship Project, centered one mile southwest of Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area. This 1,300-acre project will help to protect the area’s wildland urban interface and critical recreation resources by improving forest health and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

This four-year effort will focus on active forest management practices including commercial logging for selected species and the removal of hazard trees resulting from insects and disease.

Tree removal work near Bogus Basin Road will require temporary area, trail, and road closures for public safety. Boise County will close Bogus Basin Road from mile marker 9.8 to the paved Bogus Basin parking lot. This closure includes all vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic from 8-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m., Mon-Fri., from May 12 through June 20. Bogus Basin Road will be open all day on weekends and Memorial Day.

“We understand these temporary closures will be disruptive so we worked with our partners at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area and nearby residents to minimize the impacts as best we could,” said Mountain Home District Ranger Adriene Holcomb. “Cutting down, yarding and hauling trees can be hazardous work and our contractors must be given the time and space to do their job safely.”

Additional area, trail and road closures will begin on May 12 and be in effect from 6 a.m. on Mondays through 6 p.m. on Fridays. Closures will be adjusted as work progresses through 2028 to minimize impact on recreation users. Updates will be posted to the Boise National Forest’s Alerts website and Facebook page.

Trails having partial or full closures at times during the project include Boise Ridge Road Trail, Eastside, Sweet Connie, DB Connector, Freddy’s Stack Rock, Pat’s, Mr. Big, Ponderosa Pine Overlook and Sinker Creek. Trail closures will be kept up to date on the Ridge to Rivers Interactive Trails Map website.

“As someone who uses trails regularly, I get that these short-term closures can be frustrating. However, the long-term advantages of a more fire-resilient forest and safer trails make the temporary inconvenience worthwhile,” said Bogus Basin General Manager Brad Wilson.

This project addresses two forest health needs within the area’s wildland urban interface. First, removing built-up vegetation will reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires and be an asset to any future firefighting efforts. Second, the prioritized removal of Douglas-fir will decrease the area’s susceptibility to dwarf mistletoe infection and bark beetle mortality specific to that species. Ponderosa pine will largely be left standing, which are more fire tolerant and less susceptible to the insects and pathogens present in the area.

This project is part of the Sinker Creek – Boise Ridge Forest Health Project and Bogus Basin Forest Health Project decisions. 

Funds generated from this commercial sale will be used to fund landscape restoration facets of the project including road reconstruction and improved stream habitat. Non-commercial tree thinning and ponderosa pine planting are planned for a future phase of the project.

The Deer Point Forest Stewardship Project is a continuation of similar active forest management efforts led by the Boise National Forest to improve forest health and protect the wildland urban interface in the Boise Foothills. Recent projects include the 315-acre Bogus Basin Forest Health Project and the 43-acre Aldape Good Neighbor Authority Project completed in conjunction with the Idaho Department of Lands.

Contact the Mountain Home Ranger District for more information at 208-587-7961.

Attachments

Photos 1 & 2: Before (left) and after (right) view of the Aldape Good Neighbor Authority Project, located about two miles north of Lucky Peak. The commercial harvest done on this project is very similar to the harvest design plans for the Deer Point Forest Stewardship Project, which will result in similar visual results.