SAGLE — The U.S. Forest Service will begin a multitude of forest care and restoration projects across 7,900 acres of land from the end of The Long Bridge to Dufort Road next year.

The “Sandpoint South” project will include wildfire mitigation efforts like trimming undergrowth and brush as well as prescribed burns. A significant portion of the projects will take place in the area of the Sunset Fire, which ravened the region burning over 3,000 acres and causing $17 million in damage in August. 

“Without active management, there would be no interruption to the trend in declining forest health and the continued accumulation of hazardous fuels,” Andrew Skowlund, a ranger in the Sandpoint Ranger District, wrote in his approval of the project. “This would leave the project area, and the communities at higher risk of a large, uncontrollable wildfire.” 

In his decision report, Skowlund said the mitigation will reduce expected flame lengths to below four feet in 91% of treated acres, which will allow for hand crews to safely attack a fire. If the projects did not move forward, Skowlund said the flame lengths would be over four feet on 62% of those acres. 

The largest project will be regeneration harvesting, which will be completed across 3,122 acres of land in the area. This process is only suggested when necessary, and the report states the new stands being planted will be more resistant to insect and disease attacks, while limiting fuel for wildfires. 

In the project’s environmental impact report, Jennifer Cinq-Mars, project leader on the Sandpoint South initiative, said the forest in the region has fallen behind the desired conditions, becoming afflicted with root diseases and a dwarf mistletoe infection. The new areas would be a mix of ponderosa pines, western larch and western white pines, moving away from the Douglas fir which occupies much of the region now, Cinq-Mars said. 

“Areas treated would resemble a mosaic of individual leave trees and even aged groups after harvest, fuels treatments and planting activities are complete,” Cinq-Mars said.  

In addition to the wildfire mitigation projects, the USFS is also planning on reconstructing and doing maintenance work on numerous on over 100 miles of federally owned roads. These efforts will bring the roads back to a suitable standard for hauling lumber and adding features like turnouts and improving drainage. 

The plan was developed alongside the Panhandle Forest Collaborative, which urged the USFS to take recreation into account during its planning. Cinq-Mars said there are no proposed changes to recreation access in the project. 

The USFS’ treatment projects will affect around 20 miles of National Forest System trails, which Cinq-Mars said will be reconstructed after project use. Specifically, the Radar Hill and Little Blacktail trails will be rebuilt to accommodate the use of motorcycles and decrease erosion. 

The implementation of the projects are set to begin in the late spring to early summer 2026, according to Skowlund’s decision report. In an earlier interview with The Daily Bee, Cinq-Mars said the fuel reduction would take place in three phases, beginning near Bayview, heading north alongside Lake Pend Oreille and concluding near Cocolalla. 

USFS officials said it will continue to update its social media pages for how the projects will affect access and roads once they begin. More information, including the documents referenced in this story, can be found at fs.usda.gov/r01/idahopanhandle/projects/67684. 

    A detailed map of the U.S. Forest Service's planned efforts as a part of the "Sandpoint South" project.