The U.S. Forest Service says on Jan. 17, it will shutter the Crags area along with Forest Service Road 383 — which offers access to the Devils Playground and Raspberry Mountain — for the work.
Beginning Tuesday January 17, temporary Closure to the Crags, including FS Road 383 for public safety during hazard tree removal operations.
— USFS_Pike&San Isabel (@PSICC_NF)
“A Forest Service contractor will be working over the winter and spring months with heavy equipment to fell and remove hazard trees in the area,” the Forest Service said in a news release. “A spruce beetle infestation several years ago has left many of the shallow-rooted spruce trees standing dead.”
Tree removal operations, and subsequent temporary closures, should be expected by outdoors enthusiasts during the next several years.
The Forest Service says it will evaluate the temporarily closed areas once the contractor’s work is completed and snow melt-off has happened.
District ranger Oscar Martinez wrote in an e-mail that the work must be complete before mid-April.
