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~,. <br />,vi <br />]Ill' J'w.. <br />ll. .~. <br /> <br />Forest ~e~-~iee t® ~~se ~~~~-a~nz ~n ~~~earing sagebrush <br />By Daniel P. Jones <br />Denver Posi Namrm Resomcu writer <br />The U,S. Forest Service plans to <br />clear sagebrush on 515 acres in Ea- <br />gle County today by dropping na• <br />palm.- jellied-gasoline -from a <br />helicopter' '~=~~ <br />"We're shooting for lomorro}v," <br />Dave'SJark, a district ranger in the <br />L4hite River National Forest, said <br />Tuesday, adding that a change in <br />weather•could'force a ~postponc~ <br />'meat. <br />' 'rhe area la be scorched is about <br />seven miles north of Wolcott. !t <br />will be cleared of sagebrush' so <br />grass can grow, improving the <br />area for elk winter range, he said. <br />During a helicopter burn mis• <br />lion, napalm is il;nitccf as it comes <br />out of a tank under the helicopter. <br />!t's more effective in destroying <br />sagebrush and costs less than two <br />• other methods, Stark said. <br />The other methods are spraying <br />herbicides, which costs up to a25 an <br />acre, and dragging a heavy chain <br />between two bulldozers, which <br />costs about S50 an acre. The na- <br />palm method costs between E19 <br />and $IS an acre. <br />Unlike herbicides, napalm <br />leaves no poisonous residue, Stark <br />said. "It's loWlly consumed" in the <br />fire. <br />Burning scrub land is a routine <br />Forest Service activity, said Dar• <br />ryl Smith, the agency's Rocky <br />Mountain regional fire coordinator. <br />The agency has used napalm ex- <br />lenslvely for the past flue years, he <br />said.. <br />Forest rangers at the San Juan <br />National forest and at the Grand <br />hfesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison <br />National Forests have the so-called <br />"hclitorches" for burning. The <br />Forest Service regional office in <br />Lakewood has a third torch for use <br />by other national forests U Colo: <br />rado, including the While River <br />National Forest. <br />