New Benches from Beetle Kill
The Town of Vail has partnered with a local woodworker to construct benches made from lodgepole pines removed as part of the Vail Valley Forest Health project. To date, 10 benches have been delivered to the town and are being installed along the Katsos Ranch section of the Gore Valley Trail in East Vail. Additional purchases are being arranged as needed.
The pieces of each bench are cut and milled from logs as large as 18 inches in diameter and then handmade by Wolfgang Opel, master carpenter with NIKI Woodworking and Timbers of Eagle.
Gregg Barrie, the town’s landscape architect, says the benches are a great way to give new life to the beetle-killed trees. “We’ve supplied Wolfgang with the raw materials and he’s returned a very useful product that would have otherwise ended up as mulch. And, because Vail supplied the material, these benches cost less than half as much as our standard park benches.”
The benches are also available for purchase by the public, where Opel will work with customers on bench sizes and shapes. The cost of a basic six foot bench starts around $300, depending on the source of materials. To inquire about a purchase, contact Opel at (970) 376-6552 or visit his website at www.nikiwoodworking.com.
Since 2005, the Forest Health activities have resulted in the removal of an estimated 10,000 trees on 150 acres in and around Vail, plus many more on privately owned land.
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