Forest Management and Forest Health

See the informative video on "Ready, Set, Go" Wildland Fire Action Planning here.

Program History:
During the mining boom of the late 1800’s, most of the lodgepole pine stands surrounding Breckenridge were clear-cut. The generation of the replacement stand was not actively managed, and therefore came back as a dense, even aged regrowth lodgepole forest.
Twenty to thirty years ago, the US Forest Service (USFS) was actively managing timber harvests in the Upper Blue in an effort to diversify the age and density of the lodgepole forest. When that practice ended here, it also ended in most of the rest of their jurisdiction in the state. The private sector responded by reducing capacity, and closing down most of the active sawmills and other forest products processing facilities that served the area.
The severe regional drought that occurred in 2002 left our monoculture lodgepole forests, that were nearing the end of their normal life expectancy, in a greatly compromised state to ward off a stand clearing infestations like the one which we are experiencing now. Among forestry experts, predictions for 90 to 95% mortality are common for the lodgepole stands in our area. Forest management agencies, local government, the private sector, and property owners have all mobilized in the years following the drought to develop plans to actively manage the forest in an effort to be prepared as best they can for a potential catastrophic forest fire. Staff has been working to coordinate these efforts in our community in order to avoid duplication, fill gaps in addressing the threat, and apply for outside funding to support these efforts.

Current Town Programs:
Town of Breckenridge forest health efforts are intended to address the ongoing mountain pine beetle infestation, provide wildfire protection, watershed protection, and jumpstart a regenerated forest with diverse tree species. See the following links for further information on our Town Programs.

• Mountain Pine Beetle
• Defensible Space
• Town Open Space Property Treatment
• Town Property Treatment

Barney Ford burn piles from 2011 (C) Matt Thompson 

Summit County Wildfire Council:
Much of Summit County's development occurs in the "wildland/urban interface", meaning that homes and businesses are built in close proximity to forested areas. Summit County's forests currently have or are anticipated to have a high risk of wildfire, which places many of our homes and businesses in danger from wildfire.
To address the potential for catastrophic wildfire, Summit County Government, local fire districts, Colorado State Forest Service, U.S.D.A. Forest Service, towns and other entities joined forces to develop the Summit County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (SCCWPP). This plan outlines an active process for reducing hazards in the wildland/urban interface through fuel reduction projects.

Layered Efforts:
There are a number of efforts currently being pursued by varying combinations of all of the agencies mentioned above. Some are in the planning stages, others have already had significant on the ground work completed. Generally all of the efforts are consistent with the CWWP recommendations. Ranging from landscape scale, down to individual properties, those efforts include:

• The USFS Breckenridge Project creates defensible space around the Breckenridge and the Town of Blue River. The plan is to meander a 400 foot clear cut in a 1500 foot band that encircles the two towns. This will likely be the biggest fuels break plan in terms of total volume of fuel load reduction, and in terms of horizontal separation between urban development and the forest.
• Watershed Protection – The watershed above Goose Pasture Tarn has been ranked as a Category 5, (area of highest concern as a threat to watersheds from wildfire) in a general study conducted by JW Associates. We are currently working with the USGS to develop specific drainage hazard assessments in an effort to design specific erosion and sedimentation control projects for NEPA permitting and outside funding. The majority of this watershed is on USFS land.
• Fuel Breaks Behind Subdivisions – The Town and Red White and Blue Fire District (RWB) have planned to establish fuel breaks on non-federal lands that the Town and/or home owners associations control, in an effort to further buffer subdivisions from wild fires moving through the forest. The first project was implemented in 2010 in the Highlands Park / Discovery Hill Subdivision.
• Town Open Space Project List – The Town implemented a three year plan to conduct forest management on all of our open space parcels, comprising a list of thirty nine projects. Those projects create fuel breaks and initiate regeneration of unhealthy lodgepole-dominated mountain pine beetle infested stands. The Town will address up to 243 open space properties targeted for varying levels of forest health or fire mitigation treatments during 2010, 2011, and 2012. This plan was initiated as the result of a 2008 Open Space Forest Health Report.
• Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) Epidemic – The Town’s policies have evolved significantly in this effort since the beginning of the MPB infestation in an effort to combat the epidemic. Beginning in 2004, we spent $20,000 on removing beetle hit trees and limited spraying on Town owned property. In 2005 we spent $60,000, again on removing infested trees and limited spraying. In 2006 we spent $170,000 continuing to remove infested trees and limited spraying on Town owned property. In 2007 the Town began the chipping program. $516,656 in total was spent that year on removing infested trees and limited spraying on Town owned property. $332,088 was spent out of the $516,656 to pay to have cut trees chipped on private property. In 2008 the Town changed the chipping program to a $40 per tree reimbursement for private property owners that cut trees by the recommended date. $733,552 was spent in 2008 on the removal of infested trees and limited spraying along with the reimbursement program, of which $576,627 was paid to private property owners that cut infested trees by the required date. In 2009 the Town budgeted $177,510 for treating open space parcels.
  In 2009 Town revised their policy and there were no reimbursements for private property owners, and the Town budgeted only for the removal of infested trees and limited spraying again. The 2010 Budget number was significantly less than in past. The overall number was only $100K as proposed in the 2010 Budget for the removal of dead and infested trees, spraying, etc.
• Defensible Space – The Town adopted a mandatory Defensible Space Ordinance in June of 2009. A group of citizens submitted a petition for referendum to repeal that ordinance. Rather than put the ordinance to a vote by the people, the Council decided to repeal the ordinance. A voluntary Defensible Space Ordinance was adopted shortly afterwards in August of 2009.
  New Development - There is currently a condition of approval placed on all new development applications that requires fuels reduction prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy. That condition of approval reads: “Applicant shall remove leaf clutter, dead branches and dead standing trees from the property, dead branches on living trees shall be trimmed to a minimum height of six (6) feet and a maximum height of ten (10) feet above the ground.” The Town Council has also appointed a Fire Wise Task Force to look at Fire Wise issues and the future of defensible space for Breckenridge (more on this below).
• Wildfire Event Planning – In 2009, Summit County convened a half day seminar for local units of government and emergency response agencies for the purpose of educating all of us on how to deal with a big wild fire in our area. The typical length of such an event runs from several hours to seven days. The costs of fighting a sizeable event can easily get into the millions of dollars. Much of that cost is reimbursable if reporting protocols are followed; however, it was made clear to all of us that we should anticipate having to shoulder a fair amount of financial responsibility for such an event, and be prepared to commit other manpower and equipment resources as we have at our disposal.
• Evacuation Management – The Town Police staff has prepared a report on their plan for evacuating the Town areas affected by a potential wildfire. The specific strategies would be situational depending on the location and direction of the wild fire spread.
• Fire Wise Task Force – In the aftermath of the repeal of the mandatory defensible space ordinance, the Town Council appointed the Fire Wise Task Force consisting of a number of property owners, a representative from the RWB, and a Town Council member. The Task Force met over a four month period and provided recommendations to the Town Council mainly on issues directly related to home owners. Those issues included revisions to the Mountain Pine Beetle Ordinance, defensible space regulations, fire wise building materials regulations, and forest management as it affects home owners.
• Grants – Town staff has been applying for grant funding opportunities as they are announced. We received $71,160 in 2009 from the Wildfire Council that helped fund our efforts on Town owned property. In 2009, and again in 2010, the Town received $150,000 of matching funds from the State of Colorado, HB1199 Forest Health and Watershed Protection Grant. Staff will continue to research grant opportunities, and apply liberally for all of those we think we have a chance of receiving. The Town will be applying for another forest health grant from the State made possible by HB1199 Forest Health and Watershed Protection Grant in 2012.
• Public Education – To date we have updated the Town’s website regarding MPB, Defensible Space, open space forest health plans and Fuel Break Plans. Staff has also worked with the RWB to attend HOA meetings on a regular basis, along with newspaper and local television coverage. The Wild Fire Council also received a grant for some signage that educates the public on the effects from the MPB epidemic and how to reduce fuels. These signs will be located around the County, with two signs in Breckenridge, either at the Golf Course/Nordic Center or the Recreation Center, where they will have high public visibility.

As you can see, we have been very active in planning for forest management on all fronts. The RWB Fire District has been instrumental in helping us develop most of the elements in our planning, and has been a co-applicant on our grant applications. The layered effect of all of these plans, if brought to fruition, will hopefully give us a set of strategies that strikes a reasonable balance of allocating scarce resources, while providing reasonable protection for the community. The scope and scale of most of these plan elements is expandable if more resources materialize.

USFS Projects:
The Forest Service is moving forward with undertaking some forest fuel reduction projects in the Upper Blue Basin that are recommended as part of the USFS Breckenridge/Ophir Fuels Program.

• Indiana Creek Watershed: The Forest Service would like to cut 368 acres in the Indiana Gulch area, leveraging matching funds from Denver Water. The number of acres will likely be smaller once the project is laid out on the ground. Also, the Forest Service would like to improve the dirt road so a wild land fire fighting truck could get in and out of the area safely. This cut could help to protect Breckenridge’s water supply in the Goose Tarn Pasture. The Forest Service is waiting for a road use agreement with the Spruce Valley Ranch (SVR) home owners’ association for access over their paved and private roads through the subdivision. Road reconstruction above SVR and cutting unit layout would possibly take place in 2012, if the USFS can come to terms with the SVR on the road use agreement. Contracting to cut units in the Indiana Creek watershed would likely occur in 2013, if road use agreement is reached.
• Dry Gulch: The Forest Service would like to have this under contract in 2012. This would be a two-year contract to remove 80 acres of trees in the Dry Gulch area south of the Breckenridge Golf Course, and west of Gibson Hill.
• Peak 7 and Peaks Trail: 35 acres near the “Green Gate” to the Peaks Trailhead west of the Peak 7 Subdivision, is under contract, and work should begin in 2012.
• Barton Creek (Peak 7 and Red Tail Ranch Area): 160 acres are proposed to be cut between Peak 7 and Red Tail Ranch. This cutting unit needs an agreed upon road use agreement prior to starting.
• Ophir Mountain and County Commons: 500 acres are proposed to be cut in the Ophir Mountain/Summit County Commons area. This project should be laid out and under contract in 2012.
• Highlands Stewardship Project: Approximately 420 acres are proposed to be cut in the Highlands Subdivision adjacent to the Breckenridge Golf Course, but the acreage will likely change once the project is totally laid out on the ground. The Forest Service is in the process of laying out the cut and still needs to cruise the property and get it under contract.

Contact Us:
Matt Thompson, Planner II, (970) 547-3188
Red, White & Blue Fire (970) 453-2474
Paul Cada, USFS (State of Colorado) (970) 887-3121
Dan Schroder, Summit County Wildfire Council (CSU Extension Office) (970) 668-3595