(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Pikes Peak Ranger District on the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) will implement the Rampart Reservoir Fuels Reduction Project beginning January 2025 and set to continue through the summer of 2026.

The goal of the project is to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfires, improve forest health, and protect watersheds and wildlife habitat by creating fuel breaks in strategic locations. Another goal is to reduce insect infestations, including mountain pine beetle.

The Pikes Peak Ranger District said the project will involve mechanized thinning with heavy equipment. Thinning reduces the potential for fires to spread from the forest floor to treetops and from tree to tree.

“This is a great opportunity to thin an extremely overcrowded area of our National Forest,” said Pikes Peak District Ranger Carl Bauer. “Mechanical thinning, in conjunction with prescribed fire, are effective tools for protecting comminutes, infrastructure and vital natural resources from the threat of high-severity wildfire.”

The larger logs will be taken for lumber production, while smaller logs will be broken down to create compost to give nutrients back to the forest.

The ranger service said that for public safety, a small area of the National Forest would be closed off during operations.

The Teller County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) and Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) said on Monday, Feb. 3, that smoke was visible from the Rampart Reservoir area due to pile burning operations.