FREE Wildfire Preparedness Workshop: Offered this Saturday in Nederland

When: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011 – 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72 North
What: Free half-day Wildfire Mitigation Workshop
RSVP: Call 303-678-6238 or email sbokan@nullbouldercounty.org

Join us this Saturday in Nederland for a half day workshop focused on all things fire mitigation. Living in the foothills of Boulder County comes with known risks from wildland fire. However, there are steps you can take today that will dramatically increase the chances of your home surviving the next fire. 

The devastating Fourmile Fire was a wake up call for many landowners in the mountains. The fire started at roughly 10:00 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2010 and by the end of that first day approximately 155 homes had already burned. There were nearly 475 homes within the final fire perimeter and without quick action from fire fighters this fire could have been even more damaging. When the next fire occurs, the work you do today could be the reason that your home is one of the ones that survive that fire. There is a lot of research available and many lessons learned from past fires about how to help your home survive. Come on out to our Wildfire Mitigation workshop and learn about what you can do today. Complete workshop details are available online:http://www.bouldercounty.org/live/environment/land/pages/foresthealthevents.aspx

By the way… the fall Aspen color change is pretty amazing right now along the Peak to Peak corridor. After attending the morning workshop in Nederland, it would be a perfect opportunity to spend the rest of the afternoon taking in the fall colors.

This program is part of – October Wildfire Awareness Month! Visit www.BoulderCountyCWPP.org for a complete list of events and activities!

Forest Stewardship Tip of the Day: Bark Beetle Survey Tips and Tricks

Surveying your entire property for beetle infested trees can be quite the undertaking. However, the payoff from removing all of your currently infested trees can be huge. I have learned a few beetle inspection tips over the years that I thought might be helpful as you inspect your land this fall.

ü  Spend extra time surveying trees within close proximity of past infestations (within 100 ft.). Bark beetles attack in patches and tend to attack trees close to one another. Look for “red and dead” trees that might have been killed by beetles in past years and aggressively inspect trees in those areas.

ü  Spend extra time inspecting trees that have been damaged by storms in the past year. Bark beetles often attack weakened stressed trees first. Focus on inspecting trees that were recently struck by lightning or have freshly broken branches.

ü  Spend extra time inspecting your largest diameter trees. Larger sized trees have more “food” available for the breeding beetles and will actually produce a greater number of new beetles next year then smaller sized infested trees. If you aren’t able to remove all of your currently infested trees before the beetles fly next summer then you should focus on removing the largest trees first!
Guest Opinion: Check out today’s Daily Camera!

The Daily Camera ran a guest opinion piece that I submitted focused on forestry in the fall. Here is a link to the article:http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_18980738?IADID

Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and neighbors.

Cheers,
Ryan

Ryan Ludlow | Forestry Education & Outreach Coordinator
Boulder County | Land Use Department
P.O. Box 471, Boulder CO 80306
O: 720.564.2641 | F: 303.441.4856
rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org | www.bouldercounty.org/ForestHealth

*Please visit our website to sign-up to receive emails about forestry workshops, community meetings, bark beetle management tips and more!