Spruce beetle treatments taking place on the Seward Ranger District
MOOSE PASS, Alaska – Dec. 13, 2024 – To reduce hazards to public safety posed by dead spruce trees, the Chugach National Forest, working with contractors and partner organizations, will treat impacted lands in the areas of Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, Summit Pass, and along the Seward and Sterling Highways to reduce wildfire fuels adjacent to communities, utilities, and primary ingress/egress routes on the Seward Ranger District.
An estimated 2.17 million acres of Alaska’s spruce forests have been affected by the spruce beetle outbreak that began in 2016. Of the affected area, approximately 343,800 acres are within the Chugach National Forest and Kenai Peninsula Borough, where dead spruce trees threaten public safety with increased vulnerability to wildfire and windthrow (uprooting or limb breakage).
To address this growing hazard, the Forest Service is expanding treatment and mitigation efforts into the primary ingress/egress routes for the Kenai Peninsula, which are adjacent to the Seward and Sterling highways. Efforts include but are not limited to, ground crews working with chainsaws and heavy equipment to fell hazard trees, as well as slash pile and incinerator burning.
Felled wood resulting from these hazard mitigation efforts may be made available to the public for firewood or sold to commercial firewood vendors through a public bid process. Any questions regarding this should be directed to the Seward Ranger District. For your safety, never approach a log deck, especially where heavy equipment is operating, without first calling the Seward Ranger District to ensure it is open to the public for firewood collection.
The areas planned for treatment are subject to change as more work is coordinated. Please contact the Seward Ranger District for the most up-to-date information.
The following impacts may be present during the season that these lands are cleared:
•Short-term access restrictions and limitations
•The presence of heavy equipment on roadways
•Noise from heavy equipment
•Limited traffic delays
•Smoke from prescribed pile burning
•A temporary alteration in the scenic character until slash piles can be burned, log decks can be sold or emptied by the public, and time has allowed understory plants to recover.
These efforts are expected to continue on the Seward Ranger District through 2029.
Visit the Chugach National Forest’s website or follow this link to view a map illustrating where and when currently contracted mitigation efforts are expected to occur.
For more information, contact:
Ruth D’Amico
Seward Ranger District, District Ranger
907-288-7730
Follow the Chugach National Forest’s social media on Twitter @ChugachForestAK and Facebook @ChugachNF for the quickest updates from the forest.
OSM is Hiring!
OSM is recruiting! We are looking for a leader to join the Office of Subsistence Management as Deputy Director. Please consider applying and spread the word to candidates who want to support subsistence in Alaska. Feel free to share this email!
Open & Closing Dates are Tuesday, December 17, 2024 to Monday, December 23, 2024
See flyer attached for more information, and links for the position.
Sunrise Christmas Schedule
This Christmas Sunrise will be open Christmas Eve from 08:00 AM – 4:00 PM, As well as closed on Christmas Day. We will reopen December 26th and resume normal hours. We will also be having a staff Christmas dinner Sunday December 22nd and will close that day at 5:00PM. Thank you so much for an amazing year and we Wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
All are welcome to join us as we celebrate Christ’s birth!
In Need of A Ride to Kenai
My truck broke down last week. Had to have it towed to the shop. I need a ride to pick it up. Happy to pay for gas and lunch! Please give me a call if you can help.
Mike 907-741-0474
Annual Caroling night in Cooper Landing!
Please let us know if you’d like us to carol at your house! Text or call (907) 598-1112. See you Friday!
