As winter quickly approaches, Bogus Basin and the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) crews have been hard at work brush-cutting for the 2023/24 Winter Season. In addition to our sawyers and mountain slopes teams’ brush-cutting efforts, the IDL continues to clear additional areas of thick undergrowth around Shafer Butte and Mores Mountain as part of the Good Neighbor Authority, a project under the umbrella of the US Forest Service’s “Forest Health Initiative.”
This year, the Bogus Basin team is working on extensively brush-cutting for the 2023/24 winter season. Some of our most popular runs, including Lando’s Mojo, Widowmaker, Comeback, Lower Tiger, and Liberty, have seen a welcomed haircut – View the full list of brush-cut runs at the bottom of this article. Our mountain slopes team has been integral in opening new terrain over the past several years. From skinny alleyways to wide-open runs, the team leverages both chainsaws and machinery to clear overgrown brush. Brush-cutting for the 2023/24 season is part of an ongoing capital initiative that Bogus Basin set forth in 2017 after several decades of little to no brush-cutting around the mountain.
You might already be familiar with the various brush found around Bogus Basin, including our forest’s tall growing Rock mountain maple, Scouler’s Willow, and Bitter Cherry found on the east-facing side of the mountain under the Pine Creek chairlift. However, Bogus Basin is home to dozens of different plant species. On the south-facing side of the mountain, we have thick, low-growing shrubs such as Snowbrush and Mountain Big Sagebrush, as well as Snowberry, Wax Currants, and Rubber Rabbitbrush.
Active management of our terrain is paramount to ecosystem health, and Bogus Basin has been engaging in various methods to reduce forest disease & wildfire risk. This management is possible largely due in part to our partnership with the US Forest Service and Idaho Department of Lands as part of the Good Neighbor Authority—a project under the Healthy Forest Initiative. As a result of decades of fire suppression, forests across the country have suffered due to the lack of cyclical burning events. Overgrowth of the understory and canopy alike can result in not only severe fires but also the spread of parasites. Examples of parasites at and around Bogus Basin include Dwarf mistletoe, Bark beetles, and Blue stain fungus, all of which can have negative impacts on the ecosystem health as well as increase the risk of severe fires. The removal of low-lying vegetation by mechanical means decreases the fuel loads, limiting the ability for a severe forest fire to occur. The light released from this removal also gives opportunities for plant communities to undergo succession that would occur if a fire had moved through the area.
Established Run Brush-Cutting for the 2023/24 Winter Season
- Lando’s Mojo
- Widowmaker
- Stewart’s Bowl
- Majestic
- Liberty
- Tiger
- Last Chance
- Powerline
- Off War Eagle Cat Track
- Lazy Mary
- Nitro
- Lightning
- Stump Bowl
- Tempest
- Lower Triumph
Idaho Department Of Lands Brush-Cutting
- Sidewinder
- Sappers
- Snoozer
- Smuggler
- Off War Eagle Cat Track
The Idaho Department of Lands has spent significant time and resources on brush-cutting several areas of US Forest Service land, such as Sidewinder, Sappers, Snoozer, and Smuggler. Bogus Basin is proud to have a great working relationship with the US Forest Service and Idaho Department of Lands to care for our most precious asset, The Boise National Forest. For information on Bogus Basin’s Restoration Efforts, please visit the Sustainability Page on our website.
