PUBLIC LANDS -- The Colville National Forest has released a proposal to thin trees and decommission some roads in the Calispell Creek drainage southeast of 49 Degrees North Ski Area.

The public has until mid-April to comment on the environmental assessment for the proposed Power Lake Vegetation Management project.

Proposed treatments would include fish habitat improvement through decommissioning approximately 4 miles of road, replacing or removing 10 culverts, and commercial timber harvest and thinning on up to 8,000 acres to improve forest health and reduce fire danger while improving wildlife habitat.

In order to complete these treatments, temporary and new road will be constructed and approximately 2 miles of County Road 2022 (Middle Fork Calispell Creek Road) will be relocated onto County Road 2030 (Bartlett Road) and Forest Road 3500050 to improve fish habitat and water quality. Approximately 21 miles of currently closed roads in the project area are proposed to be decommissioned to protect resource values.