Heyburn State Park Plan To Be Presented Wednesday

A plan to restore and maintain Heyburn State Park’s native trees will be unveiled Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene.

The park’s Natural Resource Plan will be presented at the monthly meeting of the Natural Resource Committee at noon at the Iron Horse Restaurant. The public is invited.

The plan focuses on restoring white pine, ponderosa pine and cottonwoods, according to park manager Fred Bear. The 20-year project will involve thinning and under-burning the ponderosa pine sections of the park, and planting white pine in suitable forest openings.

Getting cottonwoods to thrive along the St. Joe River will be a special challenge, Bear said, because the trees have not regenerated during the last half-century. The effort will require collecting seeds, growing seedlings in nurseries, and hand-planting in the flood plain.

The park hopes to start with some basic under-burning in the spring. , DataTimes