GORHAM, N.H. – District Ranger Katherine W. Stuart of the Androscoggin Ranger District of the White Mountain National Forest signed a decision memo to remove two backcountry shelters from the Wild River Wilderness in the unincorporated township of Beans Purchase, Coos County, on Nov. 6

During the summer of 2009, rangers will begin work to remove the facilities at the Blue Brook and Spruce Brook camp sites. The shelter at Perkins Notch was also included in the project analysis, but at this time no decision has been made to remove the structure pending additional work related to the site’s determination of eligibility for the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Work at the Blue Brook and Spruce Brook sites will include constructing native soil tent pads in well suited locations and removing shelter buildings, wooden tent platforms and outhouses.

The shelter from the Blue Brook Campsite will be reassembled at the Wild River Campground and renovated for public use, or a replica will be built. Heavily impacted areas close to water and trails will be repaired by aerating the soil, adding leaf litter to supply nutrients, placing rocks and transplanting small trees from the surrounding forest.

Camping will continue to be allowed in the vicinity of the former shelter sites. Both sites will have capacities of 10 persons in keeping with the White Mountain National Forest’s limit for group size in wilderness.

The project is an effort to manage the Wild River valley in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Wild River Wilderness was designated by the US Congress in December 2

The decision memo can be viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/projects/projects. For more information on the project, call the district at (603)466-2713 or TTY (603)466-2856.