Tree removal has begun on a 1,039-acre project on the Williams Ranger District of the Kaibab National Forest associated with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).
The Community Tank Timber Sale area is located about 11 miles north of Parks just south of Forest Road 171 and west of Kendrick Mountain Wilderness near Pumpkin Center. Harvesting operations recently began in the area and are expected to be completed by the end of this year, depending on weather conditions over the next few months.
As thinning work is implemented, residents and visitors can expect to see heavy, mechanized equipment and workers in the project area and an increasing number of log trucks traveling along the haul route. Because work is progressing quickly at the project site, it is expected that log trucks will begin hauling this week.
The major haul route will be from the project area south along Forest Road 141 through Parks to Interstate 40. It is possible that there could be a significant number of trucks hauling timber through this area until project completion.
Members of the public are urged to use extreme caution near timber removal and hauling operations. Besides the presence of heavy equipment and log trucks, there will also be trees being felled and stacked into log decks, which can be unstable. Visitors to the area should not camp near nor climb on them, as they often shift and have the possibility of collapse.
From the USDA Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/kaibab/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD558250