Forests Program Update

In Colorado, 80% of our water supply originates in forested watersheds, such as the Upper Cache la Poudre. Healthy, resilient forests provide many benefits including wildlife habitat, improved water quality, recreational opportunities, wood products and local jobs.

Using the Upper Poudre Watershed Resilience Plan as a guide, as well as landscape-scale planning efforts through the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative, we focus our forestry projects in high priority sub-drainages that are in most need of wildfire mitigation work to prevent the negative impacts to our communities, water supplies, and ecosystems from catastrophic wildfire, such as the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire. To date, CPRW and partners have completed over 1,600 acres of wildfire mitigation projects. This important work could not be accomplished without collaboration and partnerships, which is why we work closely with government agencies, non-profits, local landowners and community groups to increase resilience and reduce wildfire risk across the Upper Poudre Watershed.

Our work would not be possible without collaboration between our partners, local landowners, and community members. Thank you to everyone who makes these projects a success!

We currently have the following forestry projects in progress or recently completed. For questions about this work please contact Daniel Bowker, Forests Program Manager, at daniel@poudrewatershed.org.

Projects In Progress:

  • CPRW will lead treatment of 18 acres at Ben Delatour Scout Ranch, cut and piled by the Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC), using $65,275 Great Outdoors Colorado funding awarded in 2022. Learn more >>

  • CPRW will complete treatment of a total of 38 acres at the WOLF Sanctuary in Red Feather Lakes, cut and piled by The Ember Alliance, using a $193,435 Community Assistance Funds Adjacent to National Forests and Grasslands grant through the Colorado State Forest Service, co-awarded to CPRW and the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition in 2019. Learn More >>

  • CPRW will collaborate with the Larimer Conservation District to complete forest restoration of 48 acres on the Lazy D Ranch near Pingree Park, using a $41,470 Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation grant through the Colorado State Forest Service awarded in 2021, combined with Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program funding. Learn More >> 

  • CPRW will collaborate with The Ember Alliance in holding a slash pile building workshop in the Mill Creek area of Cherokee Park, a hands-on demonstration of mitigation principles that will be outlined in the revision of the North Cherokee Park Community Wildfire Protection Plan undertaken by WUI communities in that area.

Slash piles, cut by LCCC, curing on the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch.

Projects Recently Completed:

  • CPRW collaborated with the Larimer Conservation District to complete forest restoration of 200 acres on the Swanson Ranch near Red Feather Lakes, using a $165,064 Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation grant through the Colorado State Forest Service awarded in 2022, and matched with Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program funding. Learn More >>

Forest products ready for removal at the Swanson Ranch in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.

To learn more about our Forests Program visit: https://www.poudrewatershed.org/forests

Megan Maiolo-Heath