Shoshone National Forest Gets Flood Relief Funds from U.S.D.A.
Written by Andrew-Rossi on March 9, 2023
Over $1 million is available to stabilize and restore sections of Shoshone National Forest affected by the historically destructive floods of June 2022.
The U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Regional Office announced today that Colorado and Wyoming will receive $40.15 million in disaster relief funds this fiscal year, made possible through the Disaster Supplement of the Omnibus funding legislation.
While the damage in Yellowstone National Park got the most public attention, Shoshone National Forest was also affected by the devastating floods of June 2022. Campgrounds and popular roads were temporarily closed because of water damage, and many of these areas still need restoration.
“With the help of numerous partners, an enormous amount of work has been accomplished to stabilize the areas hardest hit, and our rehabilitation work is on schedule,” said Regional Forester Frank Beum. “We have only touched upon the long-term rehabilitation efforts that need to occur, it will take years, and this funding is crucial to continuing that work,” he added.
Courtesy Shoshone National Forest
The Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming will receive $1.15 million to repair flood-damaged areas in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
Severe flooding impacted the Shoshone National Forest in 2022, causing damage to roads, trails, campgrounds, and recreational facilities.
The funding will be used to
- Continue emergency stabilization efforts
- Control erosion
- Restore appropriate water flows
- Plant native vegetation
- Repair, rebuild, and relocate National Forest System Roads 119 and 120
Roads 119 & 120 are popular access for recreational activities and the only access to the Switchback Ranch during the winter. The Clarks Fork Canyon Road, and the Morrison Jeep Trail, and Forest Service Roads 119 and 120 were closed to all motorized vehicle use on June 17.
Meanwhile, Colorado’s Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests will receive $39 million to continue post-fire rehabilitation efforts following the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires.
Watersheds serving multiple Colorado communities were decimated by the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome Fires in 2020. Front Range water providers, in partnership with the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, accomplished $15 million of emergency watershed stabilization work on National Forest System lands in 2021 with funding made possible by the water providers and state grants.
In 2022, northern Colorado water providers completed $21.2 million of slope stabilization work on National Forest System lands in collaboration with local and federal partners. The work was accomplished with disaster supplemental funding that the forests received in June. The current funding will continue stabilization efforts on an additional 50,000 acres and begin long-term rehabilitation work such as road and trail repairs, reforestation, noxious weed containment, project planning, and recreation facility repairs.
