MONTE VISTA, Colo., December 4, 2017 – Visitors to the Rio Grande National Forest should stay alert for log truck traffic on forest roads this winter. Currently, there are six active timber sales on the Forest.

National forest service roads that have, or will soon have, log truck traffic include:

·         NFSR 514, 515, and 516 in the Black Mountain area near Brown, Hermit and Pearl Lakes.

·         NFSR 640, the Embargo Creek Road.

·         NFSR 28, the Rock Creek Road.

·         NFSR 118, 118.1c near Trujillo Meadows Reservoir and Neff Mountain until December 15.

These roads will be plowed as needed and open to the public. Drivers should always slow down and stay on the right side of the road when approaching and driving around corners. Additionally, drivers should look for wide spots on the road to pull off to allow log trucks to pass and should never stop in the middle of the road.

More than 600,000 acres of the Rio Grande National Forest have been infested with spruce beetles resulting in millions of dead spruce trees. The annual rate of timber being harvested on the Forest has more than doubled over the last 10 years in an effort to use the dead and dying spruce before it loses its value for commercial sawtimber. This increase in timber harvest has led to an increase in logging related traffic on forest roads.

To check on the most up to date road conditions, visit the Rio Grande National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande. The road condition information is located in the right column of the home page in the Current Conditions and Restrictions section.