The Monarch Pass Vegetation Management Project (MPVMP) has been underway for a few years now. This timber project aims to clear out dead and dying engelmann spruce trees affected by the spruce beetle. During the summer of 2018 we focused on ground based removal primarily around the trails served by the Garfield, Pioneer and Tumbelina lifts. Last summer we targeted trails served by the Panorama lift via helicopter removal.

As seems to be the trend with COVID-19, we had additional plans to conduct more aerial removal this summer finishing up some tree islands around the Garfield lift and to start moving towards Breezeway. Due to the early closure and unsure financial landscape this spring, we decided to put this project on hold for now. We hope to return to action during the summer of 2021.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the summer ski patrol crew has been hard at work continuing to clean up downfall and leaners. It may not be large scale timber removal, but these efforts really do make a huge difference in opening up these areas for skiing/riding.

The USFS is planning to conduct timber removal on Monarch Ridge starting in August. This work is part of the MPVMP and will focus on the ridge directly across the highway from the ski area. They are looking to thin the area between the large WAPA power-line and down towards the Madonna Mine. Stay tuned for updates on this project on Monarch Pass.