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DAYTON–The Umatilla National Forest will host a field trip to the proposed Turkey Tail Insect and Disease Project (Turkey Tail) on July 29, 2021. It will begin at 10 a.m. at the Eckler Mountain SnoPark, located on County Road 9124 (Eckler Mountain Road) approximately 11 miles east of Dayton, Wash.

Those interested in attending the public field trip are asked to bring water and a lunch. The field trip format will follow current Columbia County COVID-19 protocols for outdoor meetings.

The purpose of the field trip is to share information about the Turkey Tail Project, discuss project objectives and proposed alternatives, and to gather information from the public about values that they would like the Forest Service to consider in project development.

The Turkey Tail Project encompasses 10,650 acres of the Pomeroy Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest. The project is designed to reduce insect and disease occurrence, risk, and spread throughout the project area; increase forest health, heterogeneity, and vigor of forested stands by realigning forest vegetation conditions to reference ranges; continue to provide wildlife habitat; modify fire behavior to protect values at risk; and provide timber to support local economies. Proposed actions for the project may include: forest thinning, prescribed fire, invasive species management, native seeding and planting.

The project planning team is currently developing draft proposed actions that will be available during the upcoming public scoping period, July 9–Aug. 9, 2021.

To attend, please RSVP by July 22 to Alison Arnold, Pomeroy Ranger District Environmental Coordinator, at [email protected], or by contacting the Pomeroy Ranger District at (509) 843-1891. For additional information about the upcoming public field trip, please contact [email protected].