Today’s Forest Health Outreach update covers the following:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: The Polar Vortex – White Needles
*State Tax Subtraction: Wildfire Mitigation Measures Subtraction
*Community Meeting: Updates to the Boulder County Multi -Hazard Mitigation Plan – Feb. 19
*Flood Video: First Home in Jamestown is Rebuilt

*Forestry Tip of the Day: The Polar Vortex – White Needles
For a couple of months now, residents at lower elevations have been noticing the needles at the tips of conifer branches turning stark white. A team of foresters from Boulder County and the Colorado State Forest Service went out to investigate and we suspect the impacts are from the POLAR VORTEX! Remember that extreme cold snap in early November that abruptly ended our balmy fall weather?

So What Happened? Our trees were happily enjoying the abnormally warm late fall weather and had not yet fully “hardened off”, in preparation for winter. When the abrupt temperature swing occurred it damaged the tree’s tissue on the current year pine needles (located at the end of the branch). Next time you are out take a look around and you will notice many trees with white coloration at the ends of needles, especially on the southern facing side of the tree and top of the tree. The damage is especially common at lower elevations and in the cities on the flats.  The white coloration, as opposed to red/brown/yellow color, is a telltale sign of frost damage.

Will My Tree Die? At this point we are not overly concerned, but we won’t really know the full impact until the spring, when the tree buds come out of dormancy. In the best case scenario, the trees will slowly drop their white needles and bounce back without much impact. In the worst case, the tree’s buds may have been killed and we may see isolated branches and tree tops killed. So stay tuned and wait patiently for spring to see how the buds do. If something changes we will write another forestry tip of the day in spring.

P.S. This time of year we are also seeing a lot of trees turning yellow/red along roadways. This happens every winter and is due to tree being located so closely to the roadway.

*State Tax Subtraction: Wildfire Mitigation Measures Subtraction
Individuals, estates and trusts may subtract from federal taxable income certain costs incurred while performing wildfire mitigation measures on their property. For qualifications and limitations, please see FYI: Income 65 Wildfire Mitigation Measures Subtraction from the Colorado Department of Revenue Taxpayer Service Division. (https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Income65.pdf)

Please contact a tax professional with questions. The program is administered by the State of Colorado Department of Revenue.

*Community Meeting: Updates to the County’s Multi -Hazard Mitigation Plan – Feb. 19
The Office of Emergency Management will be holding a community meeting on Thursday, Feb. 19 to discuss updates to the Boulder County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The Plan was first created in 2008 and allowed the county to become eligible for certain federal disaster assistance including FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program. Boulder County also earned credits for the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System by having a mitigation plan created.

Beginning in 2013, the OEM prepared to revise and update the plan as required by FEMA. A review was completed of the goals our communities set for themselves in the original plan and accomplishments of the past five years were noted. The OEM reassessed the hazards we face and began the facilitation of setting new hazard mitigation goals.

Residents are now invited to a community meeting to discuss the proposed updated to the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan.

When: Thursday, Feb. 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Where: Boulder County Clerk & Recorder’s Office, 1750 33rd St, Boulder County
Agenda: Introduce the plan’s purpose, Review the process and updates to the plan, Discuss hazards and mitigation projects, Introduce the social media program

Visit www.BoulderOEM.com for more information about Emergency Management and the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, or call 303-441-3390.

*Flood Video: Watch the First Home in Jamestown be Rebuilt
Here is a touching video of ongoing flood recovery efforts up in Jamestown. This Denver Post video tells the story of the first home in Jamestown being rebuilt after the flood. We thought other mountain folks would enjoy watching.

Watch it here: http://jamestown.denverpost.com/2014/12/20/coming-home/ Scroll to the bottom of the website to see other excellent Jamestown flood recovery videos.

Cheers,
Ryan

Ryan Ludlow | Forestry Education & Outreach Coordinator 
Boulder County | Land Use Department
2045 13^th Street, Boulder, CO 80302
720-564-2641 | rludlow@nullbouldercounty.org
www.BoulderCounty.org/ForestHealth
*Visit our website to join our Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter