REFORESTATION PROPOSED FOR NORTH ANGELES PROJECT TO CURB FIRES, BOOST BIODIVERSITY.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - It may seem like nature would have handled it, but U.S. Forest Service officials are taking it upon themselves to plant trees in the forest, on a ridge between Castaic and Lake Hughes.

Assuming no significant protests are filed by the end of the month, crews will plant hundreds of native Coulter pines and big cone Douglas firs this spring across 110 acres of the northern Angeles National Forest to discourage heavy fire-prone brush from growing and to improve the forest's biodiversity 

``Basically it's to help shade out some of the brush and create more diverse areas to feed deer and other wildlife,'' said Roger Williams, assistant natural resources officer for the stretch of forest in northern Los Angeles County. ``It's good for the environment, we get more habitat. And it helps manage the brush.''

The goal is to fix a project attempted in the 1970s when the Forest Service planted groves of nonnative evergreens that were fire resistant, Williams said.

``The problem is we're not sure if it worked,'' Williams said Friday. ``They didn't keep very good records and eventually they abandoned the project.''

The result in one of the target areas a few miles southwest of the town of Lake Hughes are under-size pines, that allowed heavy brush to grow beneath, Williams said.

``It seemed to work well except some of the trees don't get very big, just 30 feet tall,'' he said, explaining that the trees allowed in too much sunshine and the brush took over. Also, many of the nonnative trees died.

The region targeted for tree-planting has not burned in 40 years and has prompted concern among forest officials worried that dying trees and brush could fuel a fire in the Angeles that could spread west to the Los Padres National Forest.

In preparation for the re-foresting, crews have removed brush and pruned and thinned problem stands of trees that were competing for water in drought years and were becoming subject to bark-beetle infestations, according to a memo from Cid Morgan, chief of the forest's Santa Clara/Mojave Rivers Ranger District. The beetles were blamed two years ago for weakening stands of pines and fueling fires that raged through San Bernardino County.

A draft of the proposal is available at the district office, 30800 Bouquet Canyon Road, Saugus, or on the Angeles National Forest's Web site: www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles under ``Projects & Plans.'' The public has until Jan. 30 to voice any concerns, which can be made contacting Williams at [phone] or e-mailing rogerwilliams(at)fs.fed.us.

Patricia Farrell Aidem, [phone]

pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com