– USFS press release
The Inyo National Forest announces that a mechanical thinning project will begin this week in the Old Shady Rest Campground and surrounding area.
The project is designed to provide needed defensible space for the community of Mammoth Lakes in the event of a wildland fire. Approximately thirty acres will be thinned in the Jeffrey pine forest. Generally, trees less than 20 inches dbh (diameter at breast height) will be removed to open the forest and to reduce ladder fuels that can help carry fire into the forest canopy. While the primary purpose of thinning is to create a zone of wildfire defensible space near private homes in the town of Mammoth Lakes, hazard trees may also be removed.
The thinning will restore the area to a more natural forest structure (age, size, trees per acre, and species distribution).
This project will help create a more resilient forest during this long-term drought by reducing competition for water, nutrients and sunlight. Many areas in California are seeing trees dying from bug kill and/or for lack of water. Thinning provides better opportunities for the survivors to be stronger and therefore more resistant to bug and fungal infestations that can target drought-stressed trees.
For safety reasons, the area will be closed while work is completed. While the campground is closed for the winter, the area is still popular for local recreationists.