Faced with a devastating bark beetle epidemic, pressure from development and recreation, increasing demand for water, and a threat of large scale wildfires, we present day stewards of the land have a unique opportunity to craft a clear, concise, intelligent vision for the forests of tomorrow.
Good forest management begins by understanding our limitations. Most timber in Colorado has at best marginal commercial value. Trees are typically small in diameter due to the dry climate and poor growing conditions. Many mountain locations are economically unfeasible for the harvesting of traditional forest products. Slopes are too steep, haul distances too great, and wood values insufficient. Cutting trees under these conditions does not currently make economic sense and is often environmentally inappropriate. A substantial portion of the forest landscape is legally protected as designated wilderness, roadless areas, or parklands. Under law and social mandate, the highest and best use is for wildlife habitat and recreation.
Another constraint is limited funding for public lands. A growing percentage of the U.S. Forest Service budget is diverted to wildfire suppression; a trend exacerbated by hotter dryer weather and increased residential development in the wildland-urban interface. This recipe for disaster is unsustainable, both environmentally and economically.
It is vital, therefore, to create more effective strategies to manage our forests.
Vision
A sustainable forest ecosystem providing ecological diversity, clean water, valuable habitat, recreation opportunities, and human quality of life, while supporting tourism and wood products industries into the future, without depletion of natural character.
Guiding principles
Local forests provide the greatest public benefit at the least cost when administered as un-depleted self-sustaining natural systems. Accordingly, ecological and economic sustainability, with minimal human maintenance or enhancement, is the most favored condition. Active forest treatments, including thinning and logging, are desirable in appropriate settings to mitigate wildfire danger and protect watersheds. Determining location, size, and configuration for cutting sites calls for careful consideration. Sites with easier access are generally more cost effective. Good stewardship also enhances biodiversity, productivity, vitality, and potential to fulfill ecological, economic and social functions, while reducing management costs. An economically and ecologically sustainable local forest products industry appropriately sized to long-term forest carrying capacity is an important forest management tool, particularly in areas where wood products can be economically removed and supplied to local and regional markets.
Local communities include an assortment of stakeholders with diverse perspectives. Since successful forest management requires comprehensive community support, collaboration is therefore essential. Against this background, there are several important concepts worth considering: (1) sound timber industry practices and environmental protection are compatible outcomes; there is in fact, (2) a positive correlation between good industry procedure and sensible environmental stewardship; (3) perceived environmental impediments are more often than not, bureaucratic obstructions not directly related to well reasoned environmental impact analyses; and (4) the best community-wide business model is one that optimizes economic, social and environmental sustainability at a level appropriately sized to community and natural resources.
Goals
Reduce the intensity of wildfires in those areas that would protect people, infrastructure, homes, businesses and tourism
Protect watersheds to ensure long-term water quality and quantity
Protect recreation and tourism assets and infrastructure
Preserve scenery and natural mountain landscapes
Protect wildlife habitat
Enhance ecological diversity
Minimize impacts from human activity
Reduce local, regional, national and global carbon footprints
Stimulate a more robust and sustainable local wood products industry
Role of government
The Federal government is the largest owner of forest land in Colorado. A dramatic increase in direct funding of forest management and timber treatment activities is in the public interest. Another essential government role is to provide grants, low interest loans, tax credits and other incentives to businesses and local governments to stimulate new and diverse forest products enterprises, wildfire mitigation projects and watershed protection.
The Federal government should also commit resources to protect forests against damage from overuse and abuse, including the formulation of more straightforward regulations to reflect ecological values and protect those living near the forest. Bold action is essential to prevent catastrophic wildfire and the subsequent severe watershed degradation. Yet perhaps the most important action required of the Federal government is a more assertive leadership role promoting the protection of essential forest values through the clearly communicated forest policies.
State and local government best benefit the public interest by assuming a much more active leadership role. While there has been a great deal of talk about marketing local wood products, state and local government have yet to require the use of beetle kill lumber in building projects for public buildings. How can we recommend “blue stain” lumber to others when we don’t use it ourselves? Here is a golden opportunity to showcase the wide range of uses for locally-sourced wood products.
Water providers, including Denver Water, are already taking action through scientific watershed assessments to identify treatment priorities and maximize their effectiveness. We recommend that this process include input from other stakeholders as well as public and private partners to avoid duplication of effort and potential conflicts.
Role of private enterprise
The creation of a modern and efficient wood products industry, appropriately sized to the accessibility, quality and value of local timber resources, involving local entrepreneurs to cut, haul, process and market timber is necessary for enduring forest health. Maximizing local use of wood products reduces transportation costs and minimizes our carbon footprint. Under this scenario, what is good for the local economy is also good for the environment.
A sustainable local wood products industry would both support and benefit from the cutting and thinning efforts necessary to create fire breaks, reduce fuel loading and enhance tree species and age diversity that reduce the size and intensity of wildfire and protect property, infrastructure and watershed quality.
We are best served by a local wood products industry; having short haul distances for timber, using the whole tree to its highest and best value, producing products primarily for local consumption, that are also readily available for national and international distribution.
Role of experts
Many in the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Colorado State Forest Service, state universities, and among private industry consultants and firefighters, bring a wealth of experience and research to the table. They provide guidance for best forest management practices. In many cases they are the “on-the-ground” people tasked with implemented the policies of others. In the end, it is these people who provide the “acid test” as to whether particular strategies will work, or not.
Role of the community
We shall define the community as an interconnected and interdependent group that includes government, private enterprise, homeowners, residents, organizations, and individuals impacted by forest policy. The community’s role is to better understand the challenges we face, to provide feedback and new ideas, and to embrace management strategies which the community deems wise. Ultimately, the community must develop a consensus regarding future forest policy and the funding necessary to make it a success.
Critical factors for success
If government, private enterprise, experts and community members undertake meaningful action described above, we can achieve success. In the short term, success will be measured by the prevention of catastrophic wildfire, the creation of a sustainable local wood products industry and the protection of watersheds. In the longer term, the most telling measure of success will be a healthy forest landscape providing social, ecological and economic benefits for all.
Measures of success include:
Collaboration between stakeholders, community and experts
A structure for defining economic, social and environmental reasonableness
Measurable economic and environmental benefit
Increased public sector investment
Greater local input over distribution and accountability of funds
Local government initiative in promoting use of local wood products
Creation of a more diverse and robust local forest products industry
Development of local markets including woody biomass energy production
Diversity of projects
Use of entire tree to highest and best value
Optimizing process and eliminating waste
Stabilized timber and wood product prices
An appropriately sized local wood products industry that matches long-term timber supply
Conclusion
As a grassroots group, the Forest Health Task Force has worked collaboratively on bark beetle and forest health issues for almost four years. This paper represents our most current effort at sharing insights gained along the way. We might very well have titled our discussion “Beetles in the Trees – Fire on the Mountains – Bad Water Down Below”, but for the positive actions already taken by individuals and groups throughout our state. We are encouraged, but most of the work is yet to be done.
While some of us are experienced in natural resource policy others are not, and in any case no one can claim to have all the answers. This document is designed as a beginning point for a wide ranging yet inclusive discussion of forest health issues by experts and others, with the ultimate objective being a more reasoned, comprehensive and successful public policy for the administration of our forests.
Your help is needed
In editing and re-editing this and other informational documents related to forest health we have come to the realization that there are no final answers. There are no permanent solutions. Nature evolves. Human nature and commerce evolve. That’s why we need your help. Thoughts and comments are strongly encouraged.
Please take a little time and be a part of the solution and give us your feedback below. All comments that are respectful and constructive will be permanently posted.
Respectfully submitted,
Howard E. Hallman, Jr.
Brad Piehl
Sandy Briggs
