Final Decision Notice issued for South Routt Fuels Reduction Project

(YAMPA, Colo.) – The Routt National Forest, Yampa Ranger District signed the final decision notice and updated the environmental assessment for the South Routt Fuels Reduction project under an emergency action authorization. These documents can be accessed at the project website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/projects/64833.

Recent administration direction provided the opportunity to efficiently expedite the project’s decision through a change in policy identifying the project area landscape as an ‘emergency situation.’

The South Routt Fuels Reduction project is located within a heavily mountain pine beetle decimated wildland-urban interface for at-risk communities, along potential wildfire operational delineations and potential evacuation routes. The project is designed to improve firefighter/public safety, increase fire suppression efficacy, and reduce wildfire risk to critical infrastructure and communities across 10,482 acres. The final decision notice authorizes fuels reduction activities on approximately 7,854 acres, silvicultural treatments on approximately 1,780 acres, and salvage harvest/snag removal along fence lines on approximately 848 acres. Additional authorized activities include road reconstruction, road maintenance, temporary road construction, and culvert replacements to accompany treatment implementation and post-treatment rehabilitation. Treatments will generally be located along Colorado State Highway 134, Routt County Road 16, and Forst Service Road 285.

On April 3, 2025, United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Rollins issued “Secretary’s Memorandum 1078-006: Increasing Timber Production and Designating an Emergency Situation on National Forest System Lands,” which designated 112,646,000 acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands in an ‘emergency situation’ under section 40807 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Public Law 117-58) as the Forest Health and Fuels Reduction Emergency Situation Determination (ESD). Consistent with IIJA section 40807 and Secretary Rollins’ determination, the Forest Service may carry out authorized emergency actions after an ESD is declared to achieve relief from threats to public health and safety, critical infrastructure, and/or mitigation of threats to natural resources on NFS lands (16 USC 6592c) improving durability, resilience, and resistance to fire, insects, and disease across the NFS. An authorized emergency action to respond to an emergency situation is not subject to objection under the predecisional administrative review processes under 36 CFR 218 (16 USC 6592c(d)).

Implementation of vegetation treatments may begin in Fall 2025. Commercial treatments and funding-dependent project activities will take up to approximately 20 years to complete.

Please contact Sarah Hegg, project leader, if you would like more information about the project at sarah.hegg@usda.gov or (307) 349-3074.