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Colorado Forest Facts

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Colorado Forest Facts COLORADO’S URBAN AND COMMUNITY FORESTS Urban and community forests are Colorado in the future via firewood, dynamic ecosystems that help clean logs or nursery stock. Existing our air and water and conserve diseases and pests in Colorado, such energy. They also add form, structure as the invasive insect emerald ash and beauty to communities, reduce borer (EAB) and thousand cankers noise, provide places to recreate and disease, need to be deterred from add economic value. spreading from one region of our state Urban and community forests are to another primarily via the movement threatened by their own set of insects of raw wood. and diseases. Strategies to cope EAB now poses a serious threat with the introduction and spread of to Colorado’s urban and community invasive species need to be identified forests, where ash trees comprise an ABOUT THE and implemented prior to their estimated 15 percent or more of all PLAINS WINDBREAK Credit: Bill Cotton introduction and establishment to best trees. The Metro Denver area alone COLORADO STATE alleviate negative consequences to has approximately 1.45 million ash FOREST SERVICE COLORADO these forests. trees, which provide an estimated $82 Every year, the CSFS helps Invasive forest pests such as gypsy million annually in services including FORESTS ON treat more than 20,000 acres of moth and Asian longhorned beetle stormwater mitigation, energy savings COLORADO’S forestland, and assists thousands FOREST FACTS are most likely to be introduced into and increased property values. of landowners and hundreds of PLAINS communities to help improve forest AN OVERVIEW OF COLORADO’S FOREST Colorado’s plains are a unique health. As the lead state agency ECOSYSTEMS, FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY grassland prairie ecosystem and providing forest stewardship and AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS include riparian forests along river management, fuels reduction and corridors, agroforestry windbreaks, wildfire mitigation assistance, the recreational area plantings, and CSFS offers a variety of programs community forests in cities and towns. and services. Please visit www.csfs. Windbreaks and living snow fences colostate.edu or contact your local Credit: Bill Cotton are extremely important in eastern CSFS office for more information. Colorado. Here, the wind blows often and hard with little deterrence across the relatively flat terrain. Strategically placed, planted windbreaks greatly reduce wind speeds around targeted areas, such as homesteads, roads, barns, feedlots, corrals and crop fields. Credit: Bill Cotton Windbreaks block blowing snow, reduce heating and cooling costs, 5060 CAMPUS DELIVERY buffer sounds, provide moderated FORT COLLINS, CO 80523-5060 temperatures for livestock and reduce soil erosion. They also provide (970) 491-6303 URBAN FOREST IN DENVER and Recreation Credit: Denver Parks excellent habitat for many wildlife CSFS.COLOSTATE.EDU species, especially when a fruit- producing shrub row is added. An equal-access and equal-opportunity University Credit: Bill Cotton COLORADO FOREST FACTS COLORADO’S WILDLAND- COLORADO’S FOREST URBAN INTERFACE INSECTS AND DISEASES The wildland-urban interface, or WUI, is any area where Native forest insects and diseases are necessary to the ecological functioning of man-made improvements are built close to, or within, areas forests. Outbreaks of tree-killing bark beetles, for example, often target trees in mature, of flammable wildland vegetation, and where there is a high overly dense forests. They can set the stage for the replacement of old, stagnant potential for loss due to wildland fire. In 2012, Colorado’s WUI forest stands with young, vigorous ones. These outbreaks, on the other hand, also can Credit: Beaver Creek IMT encompassed more than 6.6 million acres and contained more impact many of the values that humans place on forests, including timber production, Credit: Welcomia, Shutterstock Credit: Welcomia, than 2 million people. wildlife habitat, recreation and watershed protection. From 1996 to 2016, nearly 3.4 million acres of Colorado’s pine forests were impacted by the mountain pine beetle, Homeowners, landowners and communities bear the ultimate and spruce beetle caused mortality on another 1.7 million acres. responsibility to help protect themselves, their property and their local values at risk from the threat of wildland fire. As ANNUAL FOREST HEALTH REPORTS: CSFS.COLOSTATE.EDU/CSFSPUBLICATIONS 2016 BEAVER CREEK FIRE residents living in fire-adapted ecosystems, there are many tools available to help communities become more resilient and BRECKENRIDGE: A WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE COMMUNITY fire-adapted themselves. COLORADO’S LARGEST WILDFIRES BY COLORADO’S FOREST ACREAGE PRODUCTS INDUSTRY Colorado’s 10 largest wildland fires More than 90 percent of forest products used by Coloradans are imported from outside STATES THAT RECEIVE WATER FROM Credit: William Ciesla Credit: Ron Cousineau, CSFS Credit: Ron have all occurred since 2002: SNOWMELT FROM COLORADO WATERSHEDS PROVIDES WATER TO 19 STATES. of the state. The Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program (CoWood) strives COLORADO’S MAJOR RIVER SYSTEMS to improve the quality of life for Colorado’s forest products producers, consumers and 2002 HAYMAN FIRE – forest users by being Colorado’s leading innovator for forest products information, 138,114 acres service, education and outreach. COLORADO COLORADO’S FOREST ECOSYSTEMS 2013 WEST FORK COMPLEX FORESTLAND Forests and woodlands cover 24.4 million acres in Colorado. Within these The Colorado Forest Products™ (CFP) Program, administered by the CSFS, is a (West Fork, Windy Pass and forested landscapes are several predominant tree species, the majority of companion campaign to Colorado Proud™ and results in increased awareness about Papoose fires) – 109,632 acres which are coniferous or cone-bearing evergreen trees, rather than deciduous the state’s forest and wood products industries. More than 140 businesses in our state OWNERSHIP 2012 HIGH PARK FIRE – 87,250 trees that seasonally shed their leaves. Each forest type requires different manufacture products made from Colorado wood. Decisions regarding the management, use and acres management strategies to achieve resilient, healthy forest conditions. condition of Colorado’s forests are complicated 2002 MISSIONARY RIDGE by a mosaic of public and private ownerships FIRE – 71,739 acres ranging in size from less than a single acre to COLORADO FOREST TYPES several million acres. WATER FROM 2008 BRIDGER FIRE – COLORADO FORESTS 45,800 acres COLORADO FORESTLAND Credit: CSFS Colorado’s headwaters play a crucial role 2011 BEAR SPRINGS/CALLIE OWNERSHIP/MANAGEMENT in meeting our nation’s need for fresh MARIE FIRES – 44,662 acres water. Our state and 18 others derive their 65.5% .65% 2016 BEAVER CREEK FIRE – Federal Local water supply from Colorado’s high-country 38,380 acres Gov’t watersheds. Mountain snows supply 75 2002 BURN CANYON FIRE – 24,437,562 1.65% percent of the water to these river systems. 31,300 acres TOTAL ACRES Tribal Approximately 40 percent of the water 2.4% comes from the highest 20 percent of the 2002 MOUNT ZIRKEL State land, most of which lies in National Forests. COMPLEX – 31,016 acres Colorado’s semi-arid climate, recurring 29.8% 2002 TRINIDAD COMPLEX Private droughts and competing demands for an (Spring, Fisher/James John ever more limited resource make water fires) – 25,919 acres in Colorado supplies even more critical and in need of (33,000 acres overall) sound management. THE COLORADO RIVER Grass fires from the Eastern Plains excluded..
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