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Tree removal to cause temporary closures on Pope Baldwin Bike Path (video)

Mechanical tree thinning using a harvester is underway near the Pope Baldwin Bike Path west of South Lake Tahoe.
Courtesy Jason Pollard / U.S. Forest Service |

The Pope Baldwin Bike Path near South Lake Tahoe will be subject to traffic control while crews thin trees around the bike path.

The traffic control measures will start this coming week, according to the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU). Flaggers will intermittently close the bike path for up to 30 minutes at a time for public safety during the operations.

This phase of the project will take place Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. and is expected to last several weeks. LTBMU issued a reminder to bicyclists, stating that the bike lane on California Route 89 will remain open and can serve as a detour around traffic control areas.



This project involves mechanical cut-to-length (CTL) thinning near Pope Beach. It is currently underway in Unit 156. CTL thinning involves using a harvester to cut the tree down, remove the limbs and cut the tree into sections in the cutting area.

The Forest Service advises recreationists to avoid these areas for safety reasons. Hazards may be present even when operations have ceased for the day.



Work is expected to continue through mid-October, weather permitting.

The forest thinning is part of the South Shore Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, which aims to treat approximately 10,000 acres on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe over the next few years. For more information about the project, visit http://bit.ly/2rOG1um.


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