OtterBox volunteers close the doors and open their hearts for forest health
On June 16th, 2022 over twenty volunteers from the Fort Collins-based company OtterBox, dedicated a full day to wildfire mitigation efforts in the Poudre Watershed as part of their “Closed2Open” program. Working in partnership with three local nonprofits - The W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) and The Ember Alliance (TEA) - the OtterBox group completed 2.3 acres of slash piling on a 38 acre project located at the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary near Red Feather Lakes, CO. The group also moved slash out of several wolf dog enclosures for later chipping. In total, the volunteers donated 200 hours of their time and energy. This work will help make the watershed more resilient, promote effective forest and fire management, create jobs and protect local communities. And, as an added bonus, the group was fueled up by a delicious lunch from the Mobile Mountain Café, a local food truck based out of Red Feather Lakes!
“From all of us at W.O.L.F., we want to say ‘Howl Yes!’ for the wonderful work you did for us yesterday. I could feel Laura's broad smile over the phone discussing the phenomenal day with all of you. Your volunteering yesterday helps to get us closer to when we can move our animals to this wonderful facility. You made a difference!” - Shelley Coldiron, Executive Director, W.O.L.F. Sanctuary
All smiles for a day of volunteering in the Poudre Watershed!
Volunteers from OtterBox build slash piles at the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary in Red Feather Lakes, CO.
The W.O.L.F. Sanctuary Wildfire Mitigation Project, led by CPRW and TEA, is using hand thinning, slash piling, pile burning, and chipping to reduce forest density and mitigate wildfire risk on 38 acres of private land located between the communities of Red Feather Lakes and Glacier View Meadows, in Larimer County, Colorado.
CPRW and TEA work in this landscape as partners in the Elkhorn Creek Forest Health Initiative (ECFHI), a collection of organizations that are actively involved in forest management and wildfire mitigation along Elkhorn Creek. Elkhorn Creek is a critical watershed for wildfire mitigation treatments, as it drains directly into the Cache la Poudre River, the main water supply for over 300,000 people in the cities of Fort Collins and Greeley, as well as agricultural use. The Ember Alliance, a forest and fire management nonprofit organization based out of Loveland, Colorado, will complete the forest thinning and slash pile burning treatments on this project, and in the process, will train mitigation crew members in safe chainsaw use, slash pile building, and pile burning for fuels reduction goals.
Slash (used as a noun) is the accumulation of limbs, leaves, pine needles and miscellaneous fuel left by natural debris and forest management activities, such as thinning, pruning, and timber harvesting.
The ECFHI has planned and implemented its treatments along Elkhorn Creek in coordination with larger Fireshed operational and strategic treatments in the area. These include the US Forest Service Magic Feather Collaborative Project, which will eventually treat more than 6,000 acres of private, state, and federal lands along Elkhorn and South Lone Pine Creeks, between Red Feather Lakes and Glacier View Meadows, as well as several other large USFS treatment area planning units in development in the immediate vicinity.
Finally, this project falls within the Glacier View Fire Protection District boundary and has been identified as an area of priority wildfire mitigation through the Glacier View Meadows Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The W.O.L.F. Sanctuary wildfire mitigation project will involve direct integration with the fire protection district in treatment planning and implementation, providing the fire district enhanced situational awareness for firefighting if a wildfire were to occur in the area.
The hard work of managing our forested watersheds requires collaboration across ownership boundaries and across sectors. The “Closed2Open” program at OtterBox is a great example of how corporate volunteerism can directly benefit local nonprofits and the health of our local watersheds while keeping communities safe. Thank you to every person that came out to make this day possible!