Today’s forest health outreach update covers the following topics:
*Forestry Tip of the Day: How to Properly Dispose of Fireplace Ashes
*Happy New Year – A Note from the Editor
*Low Cost Seedling Trees for Conservation are Available Now

*Forestry Tip of the Day: How to Properly Dispose of Fireplace Ashes
Today’s forestry tip comes to you from Lefthand Fire Protection District Chief Russell Leadingham. “We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year! Would everyone please help spread an important message in your neighborhood about making sure fireplace ashes are properly disposed of? Locally, we have had three fires in the last few weeks that ignited due to improper ash disposal. One resulted in significant damage to the house’s exterior and 1 bedroom of a residence. Even in these cold temperatures ashes can stay hot for much longer than expected. We recently had a homeowner throw some ashes on his snow covered compost pile. The Fire Department was there at 6 o’clock the next morning putting out the accidental fire”

Forestry Tip of the Day: The following steps will help prevent the above from happening in your neighborhood.
1. DO NOT remove hot ashes from the fireplace immediately. Wait up to 2-3 days and let the ashes cool completely in the fireplace until there are no remaining hot embers before removing them.
2. NEVER put fireplace ashes in a combustible plastic trash container because it can easily ignite. If you have to remove the ashes from the fireplace before they are completely cool, put the ashes and remaining hot embers in a metal bucket. Move the bucket outside the house and garage and well away from anything that is combustible. It is best if the metal bucket has a metal lid.
3. ONLY put fireplace ashes in your combustible plastic trash container when they are completely cool to the touch and after you have put your trash container out on the street for trash pickup.

Why is this important??   These 3 simple steps can prevent unnecessary inconvenience or tragedy. If your household uses a wood or coal burning fire place it is equally important to have your chimney inspected and cleaned annually by a professional.  “Wishing you all a Happy and Safe New Year” – Lefthand Fire Chief Russell Leadingham.

FYI – Everybody is encouraged to submit short Forestry Tips to us for use in future Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter. We would enjoy hearing from you!

*Happy New Year – A Note from the Editor
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2013! The Boulder County Forest Health Outreach program would like to thank each of you who were able to take advantage of our forestry outreach programing during the past year. Your hard work and dedication to backyard forest management is unmatched and must be applauded! The work you accomplished this year was tough, expensive and not always very glamorous. You raked up pine needles, cut your grass, low-limbed too many trees to count, and removed big trees (perhaps named Bob) that you hated to see come down. You moved firewood piles, slithered underneath decks to remove flammable debris, scrambled up precarious ladders to clean out gutters and removed fading beetle-infested trees. You read our Forest Health Outreach eNewsletter and learned about forest ecology and what you could do to better prepare your home for future fires. You attended our community forestry workshops, utilized our community forestry sort yards and worked closely with your local Fire Protection Districts.  For all this and more, a big Thank You!

The summer of 2012 brought one of the worst wildfire seasons Colorado has ever experienced. All of us watched as massive fires ignited throughout the state. You, mountain landowners, understood the real danger we faced and knew that our county could have experienced a large wind-driven wildfire on too many occasions to count.

Many of you responded to the prolonged elevated fire danger and undertook incredible amounts of work on your land. You came together as mountain community and not only worked on your own land but encouraged your neighbors to do the same. As I drove the foothills and visited your neighborhoods I could plainly see the difference your efforts were making in better preparing your home and community for future wildfires. On a daily basis I heard the buzz of your chainsaws and chippers echoing throughout the foothills. I saw every color, shape and type of vehicle you can image hauling loads of logs and slash out of the woods to our sort yards and/or local community chipping events.

We look forward to the 2013 outreach season and the upcoming year of backyard forest management. We look forward to hearing your success stories and working with you to offer more forestry trainings which are designed to help you be great stewards of your land. We look forward to continue strengthening partnerships and reaching more landowners with our outreach messages.

Forest fires will continue to burn and bark beetles will continue to kill trees. These are simple facts of life that can’t be avoided in the wildland urban interface. However, research strongly suggests that mountain residents are key in creating a healthier, more resistant forest ecosystem. It is up to you and the action you take on your land. We must come together as mountain communities, learn to adapt our behaviors, and make our homes and forests more resilient against future wildfires and insect and disease outbreaks.

You accomplished a lot this past year and you should be proud of what you accomplished on your land!

*Low Cost Seedling Trees for Conservation are Available Now
Each year the Colorado State Forest Service, CSU Extensions and Longmont and Boulder Valley Conservation District offer low cost seedling trees to reforest your land, plant a windbreak or provide wildlife habitat. If you plan to order trees it is recommended that you order early as it is a first-come first-served basis on species selection. Some species of trees have already sold out so order now and call for availability.

Seedling sales are restricted however. To qualify you must:
*Have one or more acres of land.
*Use the seedlings for conservation practices only, such as windbreaks or wildlife habitat.
*No seedling purchased from our nursery can be resold as a living tree or used for landscaping.
*Seedlings are only available in lots of 25 to 50 depending on kind, and in 2012, cost $26-75.60 per lot.

If you live at higher elevation, above about 8,000 feet, order your seedlings through Irene Shonle with Gilpin County’s CSU Extensions. These trees are delivered later in the spring which helps with planting in all that high elevation snow. For more information and an application visit: http://www.extension.colostate.edu/gilpin/hort/tree.shtml

If you live at lower elevations, below about 8,000 feet, order through Nancy McIntyre with Longmont and Boulder Conservation District. For more info and an application form visit:http://longmontcd.org/Seedling-Tree-Program

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 receive emails about forestry workshops, community meetings, bark beetle management tips and more!