LA GRANDE — With the recent wintery weather, snowshoers, cross-country skiers and outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to enjoying the full breadth of what the Mount Emily Recreation Area has to offer.

Union County Public Works Director Doug Wright announced at the MERA Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 1, that while the second phase of the Red Apple Forest Management project was not yet complete, all trails at MERA were once again open for use.

“We’re always going to have something to do up there,” he said.

Phase two closed the Red Apple area and the MERA Loop Trail below Asher Lane for logging and mastication from Aug. 29 through Oct. 31. Union-based ReedCo Forestry was not able to finish all of the work before the end of October due to rain softening the ground. The company has removed the equipment and paused work for the time being.

Throughout the winter there will be short-term temporary closures when conditions are right for the company to finish working, MERA Advisory Committee Chair Forrest Warren said. He anticipated the closures could last anywhere from a few days to a handful of weeks.

The forest management project at MERA was introduced by Union County for improving forest health and reducing wildfire risk, as well as conducting logging for profit, with the proceeds going back into the recreation area.

So far the second phase has been much better received by the public than phase one, which was completed earlier this year. Results from the first phase were criticized due to trail and forest damage, which was caused by inconsistent ground freeze conditions during the winter. Wright and ReedCo Forestry agreed to move the second phase earlier in the year, so that the logging could be done on harder ground to mitigate further damage.

The logging company is required by contract to clean up the trails, according to Wright. That work cannot start until the forest management is complete and funding comes in from the logging. Wright said they are still waiting on around 60 loads of lumber to be scaled, which he anticipates being completed by the end of November. If additional funding is needed for trail cleanup, the MERA Advisory Committee and public works can also apply for grants.

“Our whole goal is to get the trails back,” Wright said.

In the meantime, Wright said, volunteers are welcome to work on the trails. MERA users with forestry backgrounds volunteered to clean up areas with noncommercial trees and places where the logging machinery could not reach. Others volunteered to clear the trails of debris, which will either be hand piled for future burns or scattered across the forest floor to decompose.