LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission soon will begin thinning forests at Chadron State Park near Chadron and Keller Park State Recreation Area near Ainsworth.

The projects are scheduled to begin this month and might continue through the end of the year.

The Chadron project is designed to remove dead and dying ponderosa pine trees that were burned by wildfire in 2012. The Keller project will remove excess red cedar, which could be fuel for wildfire.

The Nebraska Forest Service has endorsed both projects for wildfire prevention and will pay about 50 percent of the projects’ costs, using money from the U.S. Forest Service.