IMPLEMENTATION METHODS COLORADO FRONT RANGE LANDSCAPE RESTORATION INITIATIVE

Implementation Methods Through 6 Years Of Fuels Reduction & Restoration Treatments

Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, Colorado Front Range Initiative, Pike National Forest. COLORADO FRONT RANGE LANDSCAPE INITIATIVE Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership & Roundtable

 800,000 acre Wildland-Urban Interface landscape.

 Dominated by ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir.

 Conduit for 75% of Colorado’s drinking water.

Woodland Park Healthy Forest Initiative Area 2 MAJOR TREATMENT GOALS

 Fuels Reduction  Reduce canopy closure (mid structure stage, closed to open)  Reduce ladder fuels

 Increase Heterogeneity (ICO - Individuals, Clumps, Openings)  Clumpy (tree spacing)  Variable residual density (structure)  Openings (structure)

 Favor early seral / shade intolerant species for retention

 Enhancement of Aspen

 Retention of Legacy Trees

 Product Utilization  Biomass, non-sawtimber, sawtimber

3 SILVICULTURAL METHODS UNEVEN-AGED METHODS, SELECTION SYSTEMS  Variable Spacing - Thinning  Clumps & Groups: Experimenting with different implementation methods

 Variable Residual Density  COVER TYPE LIVE BASAL AREA (sq. ft.) Ponderosa pine / Douglas-fir 40 – 60 Dry Mixed Conifer 60 – 80 Mesic Mixed Conifer 80 – 100 Aspen (live conifer BA) 0 – 40

 Openings  Patch cutting around aspen  Persistent openings on south facing slopes

 Patch cuts on north slopes that regenerate aspen and pine / remove dense Douglas-fir & spruce 4 IMPLEMENTATION METHODS – CUT & LEAVE TREE DESIGNATION

Most subjective  DxP - Designation by Prescription

 Sample Marking

 Hybrid ITM w/ DxP

 Hybrid ITM w/ DxD (Designation by Description)

 ITM (Individual Tree Marking) Low-No discretion

5 DESIGNATION BY PRESCRIPTION 6

PHANTOM CREEK 1 2011

Post-treatment

Pre-treatment HYBRID: CUT TREE MARKING & DxP

7 LEAVE TREE MARKING 8

LONG JOHN 2012

Post-treatment

Pre-treatment HYBRID – CUT TREE MARKING & DxP

9 WHAT WORKS DxP  Vary residual density by forest type in areas with distinct stand breaks / aspect changes

 Retention of legacy ponderosa pine per tree characteristics

 Patch cuts around aspen clones – south facing pine / aspen stands

 Thin from below, even spacing CHALLENGES  Opening Designation - range of location criteria

 Variable tree spacing

 Variable Density – similar stands/terrain 10 TRADE OFFS - DxP

 Personnel experience - use of DxP may work where experience is high. Very limited with high turnover

 Efficiency . DxP will save time and $ with layout, contract prep . Savings gained by prep crew transferred to sale administrator and/or contractor

 Accuracy - cruising more subjective with DxP (may not matter depending upon market conditions, type of contract, etc.)

 Accountability - less accountability with contract administration

 Desired Conditions - less certainty in post treatment results

11 SOLUTIONS

 Prioritize use of DxP by objectives, stand type & RX

 Visualization Guide

 Sample Marking

 Emphasis on residual stand attributes in contract acceptance provisions

 Include tolerances in contract provisions 12 KEY TAKE HOME MESSAGES

 No “one size fits all” implementation method

 Opening designation has not worked well via DxP or DxD

 Rule of thumb: RX may be too complicated to implement via DxP with more than 3 key prescription criteria

 Emphasis on heterogeneity should be at the project - watershed - landscape scale

 Prioritize areas where highly complex structures are desirable and implementation methods may require more time and $

 Heterogeneity at the stand scale is a process that may take multiple entries. 1st entries often reduce structural complexity in order to shift species composition and reduce densities

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