10/3/09 9am-noon: Thanks to the following Ecology Committee volunteers who helped with this project: Judd & Steve (organizers), Ellen, Harry, Jeff, Judy, Linda P., Odell, Susan and Wynne. This was both a fire mitigation demonstration (trees thinned to >10 feet between trees and branches up to 8 feet) and a forest recycling project (green slash used to make Andre Roy’s hand cleaner: Dirty Jobs).

The dense Ponderosa pines SE of Gate 8 were thinned using a chainsaw crew (Jeff, Judd, Odell and Steve). The rest of us hauled large branches to the open work area and then nipped off and sorted out smaller, green branches (dime to quarter diameter), the optimum size for Andre’s process. He and his wife Mary brought chippers to grind the branches and pine needles prior to loading into their truck. Andre said our selected branches were “perfect” raw materials for his process, with a good ratio or “green to brown.” In return for our efforts, Andre paid $100 to the Ecology Committee!

Judd suggested that tree trunks from the project could be used for future GVM “buck and rail” fencing projects. Any additional wood generated will be donated for fire wood to families in need in the Red Feather Lakes area. Unusable branches were taken to the slash pile. Full details are in  previous post and click “read more” to see more photos.