File:Cougar Park Task Order - Forest Restoration 2018 (46438975245).jpg

A grapple skidder drags bundles of fresh cut trees to a worksite for harvesting, that removes branches and cuts the trunk to length for a lumber mill, in accordence with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (FS) Kaibab National Forest, Williams Ranger District's Cougar Park Task Order, in Arizona, on December 4, 2018. Today, "Timber Tom" Dauenhauer, a timber sale administrator for the Kaibab National Forest, is visiting the restoration work site. The 1,342-acre Cougar Park Task Order is part of the broader Four Forest Restoration Initiative, which is intended to treat more than 2.4 million acres of ponderosa pine forest across northern Arizona. The work within the Cougar Park timber sale, located south of Bill Williams Mountain, is about 60 percent complete. Current activity includes heavy logging equipment such as feller bunchers, skidders, and loaders. The ultimate goal of the timber sale is to improve forest health and reduce the potential for high-intensity wildfires that could threaten lives, property, and natural resources. The Four Forest Restoration Initiative seeks to increase resilience in the fire-adapted ponderosa pine forest by reducing tree stand densities to a more historical level, which eventually reduces the potential for uncharacteristic wildfire. This work also offers greater protection for residents living in and adjacent to the wildland-urban interface, where developments and forested areas merge.