FLAGSTAFF – The electric blue sky frames a stand of ponderosa pines – their ramrod trunks picket the forest floor as sunlight floods the ground. A breeze tickles the green needles, mingling dust with the heady scent of pine. At first, it’s easy to mistake the sound of wind through the branches for a rushing stream.
But this open stand of trees, in the Coconino National Forest off Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, is dry and tough. Several decades ago, this area was “thinned” — trees that were too close together, poorly formed or diseased — were removed as part of a project called the A-1 Timber Sale.
