A map shows the areas, in purple and brown, where spruce beetle mitigation is planned. (Provided by U.S. Forest Service)

A map shows the areas, in purple and brown, where spruce beetle mitigation is planned. (Provided by U.S. Forest Service)

Spruce tree mitigation set for Seward district of Chugach National Forest

Mitigation efforts set for summer and winter through 2029

The U.S. Forest Service and other partner organizations will be undertaking mitigation efforts for spruce beetle-killed trees around the Seward Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest throughout the next five years, according to a Friday news release from the service.

Dead spruce trees in Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, Summit Pass and along the Seward and Sterling highways will be the subject of tree falling and burning to reduce the amount of wildfire fuel present near communities, utilities and primary routes of travel, the release says. Efforts are expected to continue through 2029.

“An estimated 2.17 million acres of Alaska’s spruce forests have been affected by the spruce beetle outbreak that began in 2016,” the release reads. “Of the affected area, approximately 343,800 acres are within the Chugach National Forest and Kenai Peninsula Borough, where dead spruce trees threaten public safety with increased vulnerability to wildfire and windthrow.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

When mitigation efforts are underway, there may be “short-term” restrictions to access, traffic delays, visible smoke, heavy equipment present on roadways and noise from that equipment.

A map included with the release shows areas set for mitigation along the Sterling Highway between Russian River Campground and Cooper Landing; near Quartz Creek Campground; along the Sterling Highway between Cooper Landing and the Seward Highway Junction; near Tern Lake just before the Seward Highway Junction; and along the Seward Highway near Moose Pass, Jerome Lake and Gilpatrick. A full map can be found at fs.usda.gov/chugach.

Felled wood may be available both to the public for use as firewood or sold to commercial firewood vendors via a public bid process. Call the Seward Ranger District for up-to-date information on available wood.

For more information, find “U.S. Forest Service – Chugach National Forest” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Kachemak Bay is seen from the Homer Spit in March 2019. (Homer News file photo)
Toxin associated with amnesic shellfish poisoning not detected in Kachemak Bay mussels

The test result does not indicate whether the toxin is present in other species in the food web.

Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Federal education funding to be released after monthlong delay

The missing funds could have led to further cuts to programming and staff on top of deep cuts made by the KPBSD Board of Education this year.

An angler holds up a dolly varden for a photograph on Wednesday, July 16. (Photo courtesy of Koby Etzwiler)
Anchor River opens up to Dollies, non-King salmon fishing

Steelhead and rainbow trout are still off limits and should not be removed from the water.

A photo provided by NTSB shows a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, that crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, Sept. 12, 2023. The plane was weighed down by too much moose meat and faced drag from a set of antlers mounted on its right wing strut, federal investigators said on Tuesday.
Crash that killed husband of former congresswoman was overloaded with moose meat and antlers, NTSB says

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska on Sept. 12, 2023.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in