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Forest Officals To Hold Public Meetings On Thinning

Forest officials in northern Arizona are planning two public meetings on a draft environmental impact statement released by the Coconino National Forest.

Contractors could eventually be hired to use cables and helicopters to drag and lift logs from forest slopes. Those are among the aggressive forest thinning alternatives under consideration to protect Flagstaff from wildfire and its watershed from flooding.

The Arizona Daily Sun reports such techniques have not previously been used in the area but are part of the environmental impact statement released by forest officials.

Other elements include hand thinning and prescribed burns. The first of the public hearings is to take place Thursday night in Flagstaff. Once a course of action has been decided upon, contractors will be employed to begin the work starting as early as next year.

Dennis Lambert was a morning host at KJZZ.