Forest Management
Vegetation Management
Each year, thousands of acres of grasses, brush, and trees in the mountains are strategically chosen for vegetation “treatments."
These treatments may include removing dead or diseased trees, pruning limbs of trees, removing dead understory, thinning or removing some of the brush and trees, chipping or mulching brush and trees with large machinery and/or by hand, and burning piles of brush/trees or relatively small landscapes in carefully managed prescribed fires (planned fires).
Conditions have to be just right for the use of prescribed fire in Southern California. This includes winds, humidity and a variety of other factors. The goals of the vegetation or "fuels" management projects are twofold—to protect communities from the threat of wildfires and to improve forest health conditions.
The Angeles National Forest - San Gabriel Mountains National Monument encompasses about 680,000 acres, including much of the San Gabriel Mountain range. Each year, thousands of these acres of grasses, chaparral, and trees are strategically chosen for "treatments" by various means.
These treatments may including removing dead or diseased trees, pruning, removal of dead understory, thinning of timber stands, chipping, masticating brush and pile burning. Although the window for using prescribed fire (broadcast burning) is very narrow in southern California (winds, humidity and a variety of other factors have to be just right for this to be done safely), this method is sometimes used to remove hazardous fuels and improve habitat conditions for wildlife.
The goals of the vegetation or "fuels" management projects are twofold—to protect communities from the threat of wildfires and to improve forest health conditions. The work is carefully planned by a team of U.S. Forest Service botanists, wildlife biologists, foresters, and fire management specialists. Many of the projects are very labor-intensive and require fire crews to manually complete the work when they are not training or on fires during the season.
Along with protecting communities, many of the vegetative treatments are designed to reduce the intensity of fires, allowing firefighters to safely work in areas where the forest transitions into urban and rural residential areas.
Project areas are chosen based on vegetative conditions in a given area (including the threat of catastrophic wildfire) and where the projects realistically may be accomplished.
Frequently, projects are undertaken on national forest lands adjacent to private lands where similar treatments are being undertaken. By coordinating these projects with adjacent cooperators or community Fire Safe Councils, a larger and healthier natural buffer can be created to protect communities from the threat of wildfire.
In addition to community-adjacent areas, National Forest recreation sites are also a focus of these preventative treatment projects. Over 90% of the fires on the Angeles National Forest are human-caused, including a number that start in or around picnic areas, campgrounds, roadside pull-offs and trailheads.
Fuels Success Stories on the Angeles National Forest:
» Millard Canyon Fire Prevention Project
» Coulter Pine Genetic Resource Conservation Project
» Charlton-Chilao Vegetation Treatment Project
» Big Pines Hazardous Fuels Reduction & Forest Health Project
For more information on the National Fire Plan and summaries of projects nationwide, please visit: http://www.forestsandrangelands.gov