Category Archives: Kaibab National Forest

Kaibab National Forest temporarily suspends issuance of personal use cinder permits for Moonset Pit

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest is temporarily suspending the issuance of personal use cinder permits for Moonset Pit on the Williams Ranger District due to operations underway to expand and improve the popular cinder collection area.

Moonset Pit is located just west of Parks, off a dirt road, east of Spitz Springs and to the north of old Route 66. The Kaibab National Forest, working in conjunction with Coconino County, is undertaking a pit expansion project over the next two years in order to make the area safer and also easier to access and use for cinder collection purposes.

Specifically, several acres of trees will be cut and then removed. It is expected this wood will be made available to the public as free firewood once that work has been completed. Then, the existing material in the pit will be moved and rearranged in order to create a more stable and durable structure.

“This pit expansion project is really about public safety,” said Deirdre McLaughlin, lands and minerals staff officer for the Williams and Tusayan districts of the Kaibab National Forest. “We had personal use cinder collectors in the pit who would dig into the material and then have issues with the top collapsing in. We have to restructure the pit so that we don’t have those potentially dangerous situations.”

While the expansion and improvement project is underway, the Kaibab National Forest will not issue personal use cinder permits for Moonset Pit. However, cinder collectors will still be able to obtain personal use permits for W Triangle Pit, also located on the Williams Ranger District. Individuals interested in obtaining a personal use cinder permit should contact the Williams Ranger District office at (928) 635-5600.

A portion of Moonset Pit is also made available by Kaibab National Forest to members of the public to dispose of natural forest debris on specific days in order to assist residents in creating a defensible space around their homes and property. This public service will continue to be offered and will not be impacted by the expansion project. To view open pit dates and additional information on the wildfire risk reduction service, visit http://go.usa.gov/cuYbP.

Kaibab National Forest to offer firewood permits

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest will offer firewood cutting permits for the 2016 fuelwood season beginning April 15 for the Williams and Tusayan districts and May 2 for the North Kaibab district.

The minimum cost for a personal use fuelwood permit is $20, which is good for four cords of wood. Firewood cutting permits can be purchased at the following locations and during the specified hours Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays:

  • Williams Ranger District, 742 S. Clover Road, Williams; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; (928) 635-5600
  • Tusayan Ranger District, 176 Lincoln Log Loop, Grand Canyon; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; (928) 638-2443
  • North Kaibab Ranger District, 430 S. Main St., Fredonia; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; (928) 643-7395

The 2016 firewood cutting season runs from April 15 to Dec. 31 for the Williams and Tusayan districts and from May 2 to Nov. 30 for the North Kaibab district.

Free-use permits may also be available for specific areas on the forest. Individuals seeking such permits should check with the appropriate ranger district office for availability, locations and other information.

All permits issued will include a map and detailed cutting regulations as well as load tags, which must be physically attached to each ¼ cord of firewood and visible from the rear of the vehicle. The goal of this load tagging system is to ensure accountability for the amount of wood removed from the forest.

The removal of fuelwood is permitted only from National Forest lands on the district for which the permit is issued. Fuelwood cutters are reminded to take note of property boundaries and cut only on National Forest lands.

Fuelwood cutters should be aware that chainsaws can throw sparks and ignite grasses and brush. Always carry a shovel and a fire extinguisher or water in case of a fire start. Additionally, all chainsaws must be equipped with a stainless steel spark arrestor screen. Cutters should check with forest offices periodically for information about the implementation of fire restrictions.

Detailed firewood cutting information and maps for each ranger district are available on the Kaibab National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/kaibab/fuelwood.

Kaibab National Forest Supervisor’s Office front desk to be closed for much of the rest of April

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WILLIAMS — The front desk of the Kaibab National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Williams will be closed from April 11 through April 29 due to short staffing. Members of the public seeking passes or permits, information or other visitor services during that time are asked to go directly to the Williams Ranger District office, also located in Williams.

The Williams Ranger District office is located at 742 S. Clover Road in Williams and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Williams Ranger District office offers all the same resources as the Supervisor’s Office, so visitors shouldn’t experience any disruption of service.

The Kaibab National Forest Supervisor’s Office will reopen to the public with its full offering of resources and services on May 2.

The Williams Ranger District office can be reached by telephone at (928) 635-5600.

Prescribed burn planned to begin Sunday east of Tusayan

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image004TUSAYAN — Crews plan to begin ignitions on a 264-acre burn on the Tusayan East Prescribed Fire Project on Sunday and intend to continue burning for approximately two days in the area if conditions remain favorable. The burn area is located just south of Grand Canyon National Park and east of the Town of Tusayan.

Smoke may be visible from Highway 64 and in the communities of Valle and Tusayan. Light smoke may linger overnight and in the early morning hours. To minimize smoke impacts, fire managers will only conduct ignitions when conditions exist that will allow smoke to ventilate away from sensitive areas.

Smoke is expected to disperse to the east and northeast during the day. Residual smoke may settle into drainages and low lying areas overnight but will dissipate rapidly throughout the morning hours.

Prescribed fires are essential tools for restoring the forests in a fire-adapted ecosystem, and smoke is an unavoidable byproduct of these efforts. Fire managers strive to minimize smoke impacts to the community as much as possible. Burns occur when winds and other atmospheric conditions will push the majority of smoke away from homes and ultimately limit the number of days smoke is in the air. Fire managers work closely with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, partners in the Grand Canyon National Park, as well as surrounding Native American tribes to monitor air quality.

Notifications of upcoming prescribed burns are provided regularly throughout the season. The public can find this information online or through a recorded hotline. Contact your local Kaibab National Forest office for additional information.

Williams Ranger District fire managers announce locations scheduled for prescribed burning over the next month

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WILLIAMS — Fire managers for the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest are planning to ignite prescribed fires at various locations across the district through the end of April. Operations may start as soon as Saturday. The specific prescribed fire units to be ignited will be chosen based on weather and fuel conditions.

Areas that could be treated are as follows:

Kendrick Prescribed Fire: Ten burn units northeast of Williams, approximately 3,400 acres

McCracken East Prescribed Fire: Three burn units southeast of Williams, approximately 840 acres

McCracken West Prescribed Fire: Four burn units southeast of Williams, approximately 1,700 acres

“Fuel moistures and weather conditions in the springtime are at prescriptive levels to meet objectives for fuels reduction projects,” said James Pettit, fire management officer for the Williams Ranger District.

During prescribed fire operations, community members and visitors may see fire personnel and vehicles in the vicinity. Smoke may also be present and may result in short-duration impacts to populated areas.
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All prescribed burning on the Kaibab National Forest is subject to approval by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and appropriate weather conditions. For additional information on the Smoke Management Division of the ADEQ and to view prescribed burns authorized on any given day, please visit http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/air/smoke/index.html.

Additional fire information for Kaibab National Forest can be obtained through the following sources: InciWeb http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4112/; Kaibab National Forest Fire Information Phone Line (928) 635-8311; Text Message – text ‘follow kaibabnf’ to 40404.

Forest Service Hiring Event Phoenix, Arizona

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ALBUQUERQUE — The USDA Forest Service is hosting a hiring event in Phoenix, Arizona. Positions in recreation, botany, air quality, forestry, archaeology, and administration will be available. The event includes on-site interviews leading to tentative job offers.

Positions filled in Arizona will be in the following locations: Tucson, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Globe, Prescott, Sedona, Mesa, Lakeside, Williams, Tusayan, Safford, Chino Valley, Happy Jack, Cave Creek, Overgaard, Roosevelt and Payson. Positions filled in New Mexico will be in the following locations: Alamogordo, Cuba, Coyote, Reserve, Cloudcroft, Penasco, Bloomfield, Santa Fe, Jemez Springs, Questa, and Albuquerque. Positions in Idaho will be in the following locations: Emmett and Mountain Home.

Positions will be filled using Recent Graduates or Student Internship appointments under the Pathways Program; Veterans Recruitment Appointment; 30% or more Disabled Veterans; Persons with Disabilities. Visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities for more information on qualifications.
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Forest Service and neighboring communities set Moonset Pit dates

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Williams, Ariz., Mar. 11, 2016—For Immediate Release. The Kaibab National Forest, together with the communities of both Parks and Sherwood Forest Estates will provide the general public access to Moonset Pit, a cinder pit on Forest Service land, to assist residents in creating a defensible space around their homes and property.  The pit will be open on the following Saturdays starting in May through September, to dispose of natural forest debris such as pine needles and branches:

  • May 14, 28
  • June 11, 25
  • July 9, 23
  • Aug 13, 27
  • 10, 24

Moonset Pit is located just west of Parks, off a dirt road, east of Spitz Springs and to the north of old Route 66. The pit will be open starting at 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. for non-bagged, natural forest debris.

“By creating defensible space around our homes, we can help reduce wildfire risk not only to our individual property but to our entire community as a whole” said Danelle D. Harrison, District Ranger for the Williams Ranger District. “Working together with our partners, to offer this community service each year, shows the importance in preparing both ourselves and our neighborhoods for the upcoming wildfire season. Our community’s safety is of the utmost importance.”

Debris such as garbage, building materials, lumber or other non-natural items will not be accepted.

Sherwood Forest Estates Fire District, Ponderosa Fire District and the Kaibab National Forest are all also part of the 14-member Wildland Fire Advisory Board (WFAB), serving western Coconino and northern Yavapai counties, which seeks opportunities to treat vegetation within their respective communities.

For more information or to volunteer to staff Moonset Pit, please contact Anne Dudley at (928) 635-0417 or Joanie Raetzel at (928) 635-0059.

Additional information on how to create a defensible space can be found at www.firewise.org or www.fireadapted.org.

Kaibab National Forest returns easement application to Town of Tusayan

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WILLIAMS — The Kaibab National Forest notified the Town of Tusayan today that its application for road and utility easements on National Forest System land is being returned and will not receive further evaluation and processing.

According to a letter to Tusayan Mayor Craig Sanderson signed by Kaibab Forest Supervisor Heather Provencio, the proposed project does not meet agency requirements for initial and second level screenings and, therefore, is being returned to the town, as the Forest Service may not process such an application for authorization.

The Kaibab National Forest has been working to address the Town of Tusayan’s application for authorization to improve and maintain roads on National Forest System land and to install various utilities. The roads and associated infrastructure would provide improved access to the Kotzin and Ten-X ranch properties, and would allow significant residential and commercial development. The first step in that process was to notify potentially affected federal, state, and local government agencies and the public of the proposal and provide them an opportunity to comment.

During this initial scoping process, the Forest Service received 2,447 unique comment letters, 85,693 form letters, 86 comments connected to a blog, and two petitions with 105,698 signatures. After the close of the initial formal scoping period, the Forest Service received in excess of 35,000 additional comment letters. The vast majority of the commenters opposed the Forest Service authorizing the proposed roads and infrastructure.

“Based on the comments received, and considering the other information I have regarding the proposed project, I have decided to reconsider application of the screening criteria to the proposal,” Provencio wrote in the letter to the mayor.

Provencio goes on to cite specific agency requirements that the town’s application fails to meet under both initial- and second-level screening criteria including consistency with the Kaibab Forest Plan, the necessity that the proposed use not create an exclusive or perpetual right of use or occupancy, the requirement that the proposed use must not unreasonably interfere with the use of adjacent non-National Forest System lands, and the provision that a proposal must be rejected if the proposed use would not be in the public interest.

“Based on information received in the record, I have determined that the Tusayan proposal is deeply controversial, is opposed by local and national communities, would stress local and Park [Grand Canyon National Park] infrastructure, and have untold impacts to the surrounding Tribal and National Park lands,” Provencio wrote.

The letter closes by advising that if another application were to be submitted, it should address the specific concerns and criteria outlined.

Information wanted regarding Clover fire on Williams Ranger District

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800-20160228-CloverFire

Clover Fire at 3:43 p.m. February 28

WILLIAMS — Fire managers from the Williams Ranger District responded to a suspicious human-caused fire on Sunday, Feb. 28, just west of Buckskinner Park after receiving a call from the Williams Police Department. The Clover fire, which was reported just after 1 p.m., was suppressed by fire personnel and will continue to be monitored.

Forest visitors are reminded to use extreme caution when camping with recent warm temperatures, lack of precipitation, and low humidity as it can create a situation for rapid fire growth. Visitors can help in reducing the number of preventable, human-caused fires by completely extinguishing campfires before leaving their camp site.

No fire restrictions are in effect on the Kaibab National Forest, though fire managers continuously monitor conditions and could increase fire danger levels at any time, as necessary. Regardless of whether or not restrictions are in place, abandoning a campfire is illegal.

The Clover fire is currently under investigation by Forest Service Law Enforcement and anyone who may have information regarding the cause of the fire, or observed anyone suspicious in the area near the time of the fire is encouraged to contact Kaibab National Forest Dispatch at 928-635-2601 or Fire Information at 928-635-5653.

More information on the Kaibab National Forest can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/Kaibab. Information on fire restrictions across the state can be viewed at http://firerestrictions.us/az/.

Hopi Tribe and Kaibab National Forest recognized for partnership on springs restoration work

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hopi-1WILLIAMS — The Hopi Tribe and Kaibab National Forest were recently honored with a national-level Forest Service award for their partnership on important springs restoration work on the North Kaibab Ranger District.

The recipients of the 2015 “Rise to the Future” awards for excellence and leadership in fisheries, hydrology, soil science and air programs were announced this month and included recognition of the Hopi Tribe and Kaibab National Forest for “Tribal Accomplishment” related to the Big Springs and Castle Springs Restoration Project, which highlighted the ecological importance of natural springs as well as their cultural significance to tribes.

“I feel humbled and grateful that the partnership would be recognized for its merits and acknowledge that it is but a starting point for continued collaborative efforts in the future,” said Everett Gomez, Reed/Bamboo Clan, Paaqavi Village, and a case manager for the Hopi Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program.

The Big Springs and Castle Springs Restoration Project was the first tribal-Forest Service collaborative project to be implemented after the 2014 publication of the new Land and Resources Management Plan for the Kaibab National Forest. This was significant because the project put into action two important goals of the newly revised forest plan.

First, it implemented desired conditions for seeps and springs that had been developed collaboratively and identified in the plan. Second, it provided a setting for exchanging information between tribal elders and youth about land stewardship and offered an opportunity for the sharing of traditional ecological knowledge between the tribe and forest, which will contribute to future management actions on seeps and springs.

Over the course of a week in 2014, Hopi elders and cultural advisors [Hopi Cultural Resource Advisory Task Team] worked with 18 tribal youth from the Hopi Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program, Hopi cultural and natural resources staff, Kaibab National Forest leadership, and representatives from a variety of other organizations and programs to conduct key restoration actions at two natural springs sites on the North Kaibab Ranger District. Since then, additional phased restoration work has been accomplished, and annual projects are planned for the coming years.

Partners have removed graffiti at Castle Springs and eliminated a decaying corral, rusted barbed wire fence and trash in the area. They have also removed invasive vegetation encroaching in an adjacent meadow, constructed water catchments using traditional techniques for both wildlife and cattle, and built a fence to protect the spring. At Big Springs, a more visible path has been constructed in order to deter visitors from making their own paths, alleviating the spider web effect of footpaths that was damaging fragile soils. And, throughout the project area, Hopi ancestral sites have been restored and protected against potential impacts from recreation and public use.

“This work is important in many ways such as bringing our youth and elders together to promote teaching and understanding; cultural identity and survival; preserving our environment encompassing land, air and water; strong partnerships and sharing of resources between the entities involved; education and employment pathways for our youth; and, understanding better the importance of the spiritual value surrounding all these things,” Gomez said.

Prior to the implementation of the restoration treatments, technical specialists from the Kaibab National Forest, Hopi Tribe and Springs Stewardship Institute collected baseline data at both springs locations. They plan to conduct long-term monitoring at the sites to assess the potential ecological benefits of incorporating traditional ecological knowledge and techniques into other restoration efforts on the forest.

“The Hopi Tribe and the Kaibab National Forest have been working together for over 20 years, but I feel the work that’s taking place through this partnership sets a new precedent for collaborative management of the forest,” said Mike Lyndon, tribal liaison for the Kaibab. “These projects are greatly increasing the exchange of technical and traditional knowledge between the forest and the tribe while accomplishing critical restoration projects in places that are culturally important to native people. This has been, and continues to be, a valuable learning process for all of us.”

Representatives of the Hopi Tribe and Kaibab National Forest will be presented with their “Rise to the Future” award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in May.

View project photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaibabnationalforest/albums/72157648171820197. The Kaibab National Forest and Hopi Tribe worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Communications to collaboratively produce a short video about the project, which will soon be released.