The Colorado-Wyoming Society of American Foresters held its annual meeting in Loveland, Colo., March 21-22, 2024. This event featured technical sessions covering a variety of important forestry topics, from monitoring to communication and from tree seedlings to wildlife. The national 2024 SAF meeting will take place in Loveland in September. At the banquet, Colorado State Forester Matt McCombs presented the keynote address. Among other award winners, three members of the CSFS were recognized for their professional achievements and their commitment to advance forestry in Colorado.  &nbs ..read more

Christina Burri starts as Deputy State Forester on May 6, 2024. Photo: Andrew Catellier FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After a national search, the Colorado State Forest Service is pleased to announce Christina Burri as the Deputy State Forester starting May 6, 2024. “Christina’s passion for conserving Colorado’s forests and watersheds is infectious, and her capacity for big ideas and delivering equally big outcomes is exactly what Colorado’s forests need right now,” Colorado State Forester Matt McCombs said. “I’m thrilled to have her depth of knowledge, experience and energy informing this critical ..read more

The U.S. recognizes March as Women’s History Month. The movement to celebrate women’s achievements began in 1981, and thanks to annual presidential proclamations, March has been Women’s History Month since 1994. This is a time set aside to lift up the many contributions of women in various fields throughout American history. Forestry remains a male-dominated field. According to data from the 2020 US Census, women make up just 15.3% of forest and conservation workers. But the CSFS employs talented, knowledgeable and passionate women across Colorado. They work hard to protect the trees an ..read more

Forests and Water United in the West Healthy forests lead to healthy watersheds that provide drinking water to millions. In a changing climate, our forests need to be resilient in the face of drought, wildfire, insects and diseases to ensure water remains clean and accessible to people, wildlife and the landscape. Water is the lifeblood of the West. When Coloradans turn on their taps, the water has a surprising origin story – one that starts high in the mountains, filtered through forests. In celebrating UN World Water Day, let’s explore the connection between water and forests here ..read more

Pile burning at Colorado State Forest. Photo: Matt Schiltz, CSFS When foresters complete forest management and fuels reduction treatments, they sometimes pile up the leftover, non-merchantable material. This includes limbs, tops and cull (or unusable) sections of trees. Trained Colorado State Forest Service personnel then burn these piles as an economical and effective method of disposing of excess wildland fire fuels. Each winter CSFS staff in the Northwest Area eagerly await the right conditions to burn these slash piles. In 2024, CSFS staff have been burning piles on several State Trust L ..read more

While GIS work often involves time behind the computer, the GIS team at the CSFS also uses drones (left) and remote positioning receivers (center). L-R Phoebe Bauer, Rebecca Dannels and Hannah Tampier. Photo: Field Peterson, CSFS The Geographic Information Systems team at the Colorado State Forest Service supplies foresters, staff, partners and Colorado residents with a variety of crucial spatial data. Land ownership boundaries, wildfire risk and project maps are just a few of the topics that the GIS team works on every day to provide up-to-date, actionable maps and data to the people who ne ..read more

New podcast episode shares how Colorado and Finland are shaping global sustainability and forestry conversations “Everything that’s made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow,” says Amanda West Fordham, Associate Director of Science and Data at the CSFS. She’s describing a key goal of Stora Enso, a Finnish provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials and wooden construction—one of many industry leaders she connected with on a 2023 delegation to Finland.   Caught somewhere between microwave boxes, robots roaming the forests and artificial inte ..read more

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The annual forest health report, released today by the Colorado State Forest Service, details the current state of the health and condition of Colorado’s forests. Last year was cooler and wetter with fewer large fires in Colorado. However, Colorado still faces significant wildfire risk: the increase in precipitation left more wildfire fuels in forests and around our communities, and pests continue to affect Colorado’s forests. Colorado is on the right path to face these challenges, and the CSFS works to ensure the state is wildfire and recovery ready.  ..read more

The Colorado State Forest Service frequently partners with state and federal agencies — such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management — on forest management projects that help conserve and enhance habitat for wildlife around the state. Photo: Amy Bulger/CSFS Nestled in remote and urban forests, on grasslands and plains, more than 900 wildlife species call Colorado home. Everything from tiny toads to apex predators are part of what makes this state a unique place to view wildlife. In honor of World Wildlife Day this weekend, we’re celebrating t ..read more

Under a Good Neighbor Authority agreement, the Colorado State Forest Service is working with the US Forest Service and private landowners to complete cross-boundary work that improves forest health, reduces wildfire risk and protects watersheds in North Routt County. Photo: CSFS/Carolina Manriquez The East Troublesome Fire sparked and rapidly grew into the second most destructive wildfire of 2020 less than 80 miles east of Steamboat Lake, as the crow flies. Winds carried the smoke plume and flames away from homes around the lake and Hahn’s Peak Village, leaving some residents feeling they’d ..read more