A Neighborly Observation

By Tate Thriffiley, Ecologist, De ;Soto National Forest

The Mississippi DOT has definitely had their hands full just cleaning up the major highways and interstates. I know lanes were open almost immediately after the storm from crews pushing and clearing then trees and debris. Folks were happy to have the transportation system sopen, even when we did not have much or any fuel. Those open roadways did facilitate speedy access for emergency equipment and supplies, law enforcement, military personnel, volunteers, and utility workers to reach the hardest hit coastal areas and start the steps toward recovery.

Full recovery for the Gulf Coast will take many years. Debris trucks, log trucks, construction equipment, and other heavy rigs will put Mississippi's roads to the test. MDOT's role in maintaining and improving our system is vital to the recovery process.

Here in the De Soto National Forest, many thousands of trees on our forest were uprooted or broken in half. We are doing all that we can to clean up the forest, trails, and recreation areas. To date, we have one recreation area open. Others will open soon. It might take a couple years to reopen all the trails. We are in the process of salvaging timber to facilitate recovery forest-wide.

Another Road Report

Excerpted from accomplishment reports at www.fs.fed.us/r8/mississippi/katrina/

Saw crews and heavy equipment have opened an estimated 1300 miles of roads closed by Hurricane Katrina. These are county roads and Forest Service roads. Since opening roads, the Forest Service Incident Management Team has concentrated on recovery. Their primary focus is to reduce the heavy fuel load of damaged and downed trees by utilizing salvage sales. The heavy, woody debris increases the potential for hotter, more intense wildland fires this summer. This is especially troubling with the large amount of wildland urban interface within and surrounding the De Soto National Forest.

Within the Mississippi National Forests, over 150 employees are committed to work in the recovery effort. Some 320 personnel from off-forest have also supported this recovery. Thus far, the Forest has sold 22 salvage sales for an estimated 115.5 million board feet of timber. Some 37 more sales are in the works.

The up to 155 mph wind gusts of Katrina that hit the De Soto were devastating, but the Forest has made great progress within their boundaries on behalf of the public interest.

Thousands of hours of work remain. And as one employee observed, they work knowing that the 2006 hurricane season is due in 100 days!