Forestry Equipment Traffic Expected to Increase on Willamette National Forest Roads

OAKRIDGE, Ore., May 14, 2025— Contract work for the Cedar Creek Integrated Resource Service Contract (IRSC) Project is scheduled to begin Thursday, May 15. Visitors to the Middle Fork Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest can expect increased construction traffic in project areas immediately East of the community of Oakridge, Oregon and over to Waldo Lake area while work is underway.   

The upcoming project implementation includes a combination of road work and timber hauling. The road work will begin Thursday and include Forest Service Roads (FSR) 24, 1934, 2408, and 5887, as well as stem roads within these systems that will be utilized as haul routes. Beginning Friday, May 16th, timber harvest activities will increase truck traffic on FSR 1931 road near Huckleberry Flats OHV Trailhead & Staging Area and FSR 24.  

The Cedar Creek IRSC includes areas immediately adjacent to the East of the community of Oakridge and over to Waldo Lake following the Cedar Creek fire in 2022. The lightning-caused fire burned more than 127,000 acres.  

The project aims to reduce the risks of hazardous fuels that have fallen across or remain standing along important access routes of the 2022 Cedar Creek fire-affected road system so that access to and through the burned area can be restored.   

Activities include performing mitigation of risk along road from fire killed/damaged trees, reduction of roadside fuel accumulation and essential maintenance and reconstruction of roads. All work is tentatively anticipated to have a final completion date of October 15, 2029.  

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. 

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