Officials are seeking public input on the proposed East Park North Divide Fuels Reduction project.

The project area consists of approximately 18,640 acres and is located along the U.S. Highway 24 corridor in eastern Park and central Teller counties.

In this project, the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service proposes to use vegetation treatments such as tree thinning, prescribed fire, and other fuel reduction methods to reduce the intensity of fires and create healthier and more fire resilient forest conditions across the project area.

This project has been approved as an authorized emergency action under the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The 2022 Infrastructure Law earmarked $8 billion for forest and land management and Congress designated nearly $6 billion towards wildland fire management.

Based on the risks outlined in the forest service’s January 2022 Wildfire Crisis Strategy, Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack determined that an emergency exists on 250 high-risk firesheds in the western United States. The East Park North Divide Fuels Reduction project lies within Divide and Colorado Springs, two of the 250 high risk firesheds identified.

This opportunity to comment will be the only time public input is collected. It is critical that you provide feedback on this proposal during this comment period.

To provide electronic comments and learn more about the project’s location, purpose and proposed actions, please visit the project website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/psicc/?project=65314.

The “Get Connected” menu on the right side of the page provides an option to comment as well as an option to subscribe to email updates. Comments should include your name, address, telephone number and (if applicable) the name of the organization you represent.