Colorado foresters say no need to spray for pine beetles

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Local company continue to offer spraying services, saying some property owners would rather be safe than sorry

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Pine beetle populations have dropped to the lowest level in 30 years in parts of the Colorado high country. Bob Berwyn photo.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — While some local property owners report that they’re getting advertisements from local tree spraying companies about protecting lodgepole pines from mountain pine beetles, state officials say there’s no need to apply pesticides this year.

“Mountain pine beetle numbers are the lowest they’ve been in 30 years,” said Ron Cousineau, district state forester for the area covering Summit and Grand counties. “The mountain pine beetle population has crashed … spraying has to be based on an actual threat,” he said. “The current population of pine beetles does not warrant spraying.”

Essentially, the bugs have killed most of the available trees. With very few brood trees remaining, beetle populations aren’t likely to reach epidemic levels again anytime soon. The latest forest surveys showed pine beetle activity on only about 200 acres in Summit County last year, with only a few pockets of trees within those areas affected by the beetles. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Environment, Forest health, forests, pine beetles, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado gets new state forester

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Mike Lester says Colorado forests face ‘extraordinary changes’

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Colorado’s aspen forests may see more die-offs as a result of last summer’s drought.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado’s new state forester and director of the Colorado State Forest Service may be moving here from Pennsylvania, but his forestry roots are pure Colorado.

Mike Lester is a CSU alumnus and spent time with the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. He currently serves as assistant state forester for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, a position in which he is responsible for more than 300 staff, manages 2 million acres of state forest land, oversees the Pennsylvania State nursery manager, and manages a silviculture program that yields $25 million in annual revenues.

As Colorado  state forester, Lester is responsible for the protection of Colorado’s forest resources; ensuring forestry education, outreach and technical assistance to private landowners; and carrying out the duties of the Division of Forestry within the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. (more…)

Filed under: public lands, forests, climate and weather, Colorado, agriculture, Drought | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado to revamp wildfire response

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

The Lower North Fork Fire burning March 26 in Jefferson County. PHOTO COURTESY JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF.

Gov. Hickenlooper proposes reshuffling agencies to unify command structure

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY —Scrambling to beef up the state’s response capability at the start of what could be a long, hot fire season, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Monday he’ll ask the State Legislature to shake up the agencies charged with responding to public safety emergencies.

Based on the recommendations of a review panel, Hickenlooper said he’ll propose legislation that would put the Division of Emergency Management and wildfire resources at the Colorado State Forest Service under the authority of the Colorado Department of Public Safety. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, forest fires, Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: Forest Service experts named to fire review team

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

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Report on prescribed fire planning and execution expected in two weeks

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Along with William Bass, supervisor of the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming, a team set to review the prescribed Colorado State Forest Service fire that may have sparked the deadly Lower North Fork wildfire will include some of the country’s top wildfire experts.

The team includes Francisco (Frankie) Romero, an applied fire ecologist who overseas the Forest Service’s prescribed fire program. Romero will serve as the fire behavior analyst. In his Forest Service position Romero is responsible for policy updates, agency-wide workforce planning and training; monitoring program accomplishments and performance including escaped prescribed fires agency-wide.   Romero’s review experience includes the Salt Fire Shelter Deployment Review, and the Breaks One Escape Prescribed Fire. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, US Forest Service, forest fires, Colorado | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: Hickenlooper suspends prescribed fires

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado firefighters battle a small blaze near Keystone, Colorado. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.

Order only applies to state-controlled lands; prescribed burns remain an important resource management took in fire-adapted western forest ecosystems

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — While acknowledging the importance of prescribed fire as a resource management tool, the Colorado State Forest Service joined Gov. John Hickenlooper in calling for an independent review of the circumstances that resulted in the deadly Lower North Fork Fire.

The announcement came after deputy state forester Joe Duda confirmed that a prescribed burn was the likely source of ignition for the Lower North Fork Fire, which has affected a 4,500 acre area in Jefferson County, burning 23 homes and killing two residents.

“We will conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of conditions across the state, as well as the protocols that have been utilized during the prescribed burns,” Hickenlooper said. “We encourage any other land manager who uses prescribed fires as a tool to mitigate fire danger to review their procedures and protocols and carefully evaluate weather and landscape conditions.” (more…)

Filed under: Forest health, forests, forest fires, climate and weather, Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: Loans to help build forest product industry

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Got an idea for using beetle-killed wood? Loans are available for forest product businesses in NW Colorado.

Summit County meeting to focus on regional financing program

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY —Even as the pine beetle outbreak slows down in Colorado, state and regional officials are redoubling their efforts to find some use for the vast tracts of dead trees left behind and to jump-start businesses that could help build a sustainable forest product industry in the years to come.

A new fund set up by the Colorado State Forest Service and administered through the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments is offering loans to help businesses that harvest, remove, utilize or market timber from beetle-killed stands and other forested areas in northwest Colorado. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado, Forest health, Environment, economy, business, forests, Summit County news, Colorado, agriculture, pine beetles | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Colorado: Get your firewood now!

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado Forest Service selling lodgepole cord wood

The Colorado State Forest Service is selling lodgepole pine firewood for $10 per cord.

By Summit Voice

The Colorado State Forest in north-central Colorado is selling self-serve permits now through September for beetle-kill firewood at $10 per cord. The low fee is designed to encourage citizens to meet their wood-burning needs by utilizing the build-up of dead wood in the State Forest, as part of a forest management plan intended in part to reduce the fuel available for an intense wildfire.

Clearing dead trees also provides young, living trees more light, which encourages growth and enhances wildlife habitat. The State Forest has 28,000 acres of lodgepole pine, a majority of which has been impacted in recent years by mountain pine beetles. (more…)

Filed under: Forest health, pine beetles and wildfires, Environment, business, forests, Colorado, pine beetles | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

State foresters say there’s no magic bullet for beetles

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

With huge tracts of pine forests under attack by bark beetles, forest managers are considering options for treatments and restoration. PHOTO COURTESY U.S. FOREST SERVICE.

Some experts say the latest news on acoustic treatments just deflects attention from need to actively manage and restore forests

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — New research from Arizona showing that the manipulation and playback of bark beetle sounds may disrupt their lifecycle didn’t impress Colorado state forester Ron Cousineau, who said it’s just another sign that people are reaching for straws in the fight against the tree-killing bugs.

“The reality is, people will go to no end to actually avoid managing the forest … We’ve heard it all. gemstones, chants, sprinkling Verbenone from helicopters, worm poop on the bark … all to avoid the ultimate,” Cousineau said during a recent free-wheeling discussion with a pair of Summit County commissioners.

The findings from forest researchers at the University of Northern Arizona drew widespread attention across the Rocky Mountain region, where a warming climate and decades of fire suppression have made vast swaths of forest more susceptible to beetle attacks on a scale that’s unprecedented in recent memory.

Cousineau, the district forester for Summit and Grand counties, said every time there’s a new story about alternative methods of pine beetle control, it undermines efforts to convince people there’s a need for active management, in the form of logging. (more…)

Filed under: Environment, Forest health, pine beetles and wildfires, public lands, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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