The Sisters Ranger District in the Deschutes National Forest is planning to cut down up to 500 trees to clear a 20-foot-wide corridor for an existing electrical line in one Central Oregon’s most popular recreational areas.

The project is located in the vicinity of Camp Sherman and County Road 1102 (Indian Ford Creek), according to a release from the U.S. Forest Service. Around 13 miles of forest area will be affected by the project, equal to about 40 acres of potential impact.

Camp Sherman is a resort area 40 miles northwest of Bend. The area contains a number of small, low-key resorts and is well known for fishing and swimming in the cold waters of the Metolius River.

The electrical line is owned by the Central Electric Cooperative Inc., a member-owned nonprofit that has provided electric utility services to its members in Central Oregon since 1941. Around 80 miles of CEC power lines are located in the Deschutes National Forest.

“Due to recent wildfires in California and other states, the utility companies have a heightened sense of clearing right-of-way areas around electrical lines,” said Ian Reid, Sisters district ranger.

The electric co-op’s right of way is 10 feet on either side of the power pole centerline and covered under an existing special use permit with the Forest Service, said Reid.

The project stipulates that most of the removed trees will be sold as forest products by the Forest Service or the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Around 40 trees will be retained by the Forest Service to provide large wood to support future aquatic restoration projects.

In addition to the tree removal, the project includes replacing 131 utility poles to meet current standards. Mechanical mowing of brush may also be performed in the area at the discretion of the cooperative. The project does not require any new or temporary road construction.

The proposed action will be analyzed during environmental planning work, and a final decision will be made after the public comment period, according to Reid. The final decision is expected in early March, and work will begin depending on environmental conditions but are expected in the spring of 2020.

The public is invited to comment on the project. All submissions must be made by Feb. 6.

Comments can be submitted to CEC Powerline Right-of-Way Maintenance Project, District Ranger Ian Reid, care of Project Manager Heather Jackson, P.O. Box 249, Sisters OR 97759. Commenters can also email: comments-pacificnorthwest-deschutes-sisters@fs.fed.us or call 541-383-4025.