Today’s forest health outreach update covers the following topics:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: View an Aerial Photo of Your Home’s Defensible Space Zones
*Join us Saturday in Nederland: Free Firewise Landscaping Forestry Workshop – May 11
*Magnolia Road Community Training: Free Wildfire Mitigation Community Training – May 21

*Forestry Tip of the Day: View an Aerial Photo of Your Home’s Defensible Zones 1 and 2
Forestry Tip of the Day: As part of the 2013 Boulder County property appraisal Notice of Value postcard mailed on May 1, mountain residents, who reside in unincorporated Boulder County, can view an aerial photo of their defensible space for use in wildfire mitigation work.

The second page of the online Notice of Value PDF includes an aerial photo of each unincorporated mountain property and two concentric circles depicting estimated wildfire mitigation defensible space Zones 1 and 2 (a sample defensible space PDF is available here:http://www.bouldercounty.org/doc/landuse/sampledspacephoto.pdf). Creating and maintaining effective defensible space on your land gives your home a fighting chance against an approaching wildfire. It also gives firefighters an opportunity to do their jobs more safely.

To access the online Notice of Value and “Your Wildfire Defensible Space” PDF, go to www.bit.ly/boconov. Enter your Account Number and PIN from your postcard that you should have recently received in the mail, and click on “E-NOV Image,” which will display your Notice of Value statement (page 1) and “Your Wildfire Defensible Space” (page 2) in PDF format. Don’t have your Notice of Value postcard? Email us at wildfiremitigation@nullbouldercounty.org or call 303-441-3930 for assistance.

Why is this important?  The Boulder County Land Use Department is providing this photo as an educational tool to help residents prepare for future wildfires. The Fourmile Canyon Fire and other recent Colorado fires continually teach us that wildfire disasters cannot be prevented without homeowners actively creating and maintaining effective defensible space and safe home ignition zones. With this information, the county is hoping to encourage all residents to take additional action to improve the chances that their homes will survive future wildfires. To learn more about wildfire mitigation visit us online atwww.BoulderCounty.org/WildfireMitigation.

*Join us Saturday in Nederland: Free Firewise Landscaping Workshop – May 11
We hope everyone is able to attend our half-day forestry workshop this Saturday in Nederland. This is one of our big workshops for the year and we hope to see lots of folks turn out! Our presentation focuses on new topics that we haven’t emphasized at prior trainings. We have a really good program put together and I hope to see many of you on Saturday! Please help us spread the word about this training by forwarding this eNewsletter to friends and neighbors.

What: Half-day workshop focused on “Firewise Landscaping”
When: Saturday, May 11, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72 North
Event Flyer: Firewise Landscaping Forestry Workshop Flyer (912 KB)

Defensible space does not mean moonscape: Learn how to transform your home’s perimeter into an area that you can not only use, but looks good and helps protect your home from wildfires. We hope you can join us!

Workshop Highlights:

• Lessons learned from High Park and Waldo Canyon fires. Our understanding of how homes are lost in wildfires is changing. Learn the newest science available.
• Learn about simple spring maintenance tips to better prepare your home for wildfires.
• See fun and attractive examples of patio design and pathways incorporating d-space.
• Hear from a local resident about her experiences rebuilding after the Fourmile Canyon Fire.
• Learn how to use fire-resistant native and adapted plants to add color and beauty and to attract birds to your land.
• Hear from the U.S. Forest Service about planned projects near Nederland and surrounding areas.

There is no charge for this training, and no RSVP is required. Light snacks and coffee will be provided. Sponsored by Boulder County, Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado State University Extensions, U.S. Forest Service, Town of Nederland, and Nederland Fire Protection District.

*Magnolia Road Community Training: Free Wildfire Mitigation Program
When: Tuesday, May 21 – 6 to 8 p.m.
Where: At a community member’s home at 390 Porter Ranch Rd., Nederland
What: Outside Wildfire Mitigation Workshop and info about a Community Chipping Event
Who should attend? The program is open to everyone. However, residents living in the Magnolia Road area are especially encouraged to attend.

Program Description: At this free outdoor Wildfire Mitigation Workshop, learn how to identify mitigation actions you can take to reduce the ignitability of your home. We will tour the outside of our workshop home and critically evaluate the home’s strengths and weakness in relation to wildland fire.

The “Home Ignition Zone” is a phrase coined by nationally recognized researcher Dr. Jack Cohen, USFS, Missoula Fire Science Lab. Cohen’s research focuses on how and why homes burn during wildfires and strongly suggests landowners who take precautionary action can dramatically increase the likelihood of their homes surviving the next fire.

Learn about simple actions you can take to dramatically improve the chances of your home surviving the next wildfire. Our understanding about how homes are lost in wildfires is changing. Learn the latest science available and lessons learned from last summer’s Waldo Canyon Wildfire.

Community Chipping Program: Boulder County recently awarded PUMA (Preserve Unique Magnolia Road Area) a community chipping reimbursement grant to help the community set up a curbside chipping program. This year PUMA will host two “curbside chipping events” in mid- May and in mid-Oct. Please join us at this meeting if you are interested in taking advantage of the heavily discounted chipping program. If you have questions about the chipping event please call Robert Fray, PUMA Volunteer Chipping Coordinator, at 303-939-9044.
Program Highlights:

• Hear about our planned Community Chipping Days.
• Sign-up for the discounted curbside chipping program.
• Learn about simple spring maintenance tips to better prepare your home for wildfires.
• Understand the latest wildfire mitigation science.
• Learn how to retrofit your home to be more fire-resistant.

Program Sponsors: PUMA (Preserve Unique Magnolia Area) and Boulder County

Cheers,
Ryan

Ryan Ludlow | Forestry Education & Outreach Coordinator 
Boulder County | Land Use Department
O: 720.564.2641 | F: 303.441.4856
rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org | www.bouldercounty.org/ForestHealth
*Please visit our website to sign-up to for our Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter. Learn about upcoming forestry community meetings, wildfire mitigation, bark beetle management tips and more!