La Junta District - Forest Management

Agroforestry . Common Insects & Diseases in SE Colorado
Piñon - Juniper Management . Tamarisk Management

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Agroforestry

Windbreaks in Southeastern Colorado

Windbreaks and living snow fences are extremely important in southeastern Colorado. Here, the wind blows often and hard with not much deterrence through our relatively flat terrain. Strategically placed windbreaks greatly reduce wind speed around specific targets. These can be homesteads, roads, barns, feedlots, corrals, crop fields, or any other number of areas. The benefits of reduced wind speed include blocking blowing snow, reducing heating and cooling costs, sound buffering, odor buffering, providing cooler or warmer areas for livestock, and reducing soil erosion. Windbreaks also provide great habitat for many wildlife species, especially when a fruit producing shrub row is added. Check out our Agroforestry Links for specific windbreak guides for basic design, livestock operations, fields, snow management, and wildlife.

Planning
Planning is the first step toward planting a successful windbreak. In southeastern Colorado, windbreaks are most effective when located on the north, west, or northwest sides of targets. In order to keep snow from piling on a target, the center of the inside row must be planted at least 150'-200' from the target. Also, the ends of windbreaks need to be located at least 50' from targets as snow will accumulate around the ends. Planting two high-density (8'-10' in-row spacing) rows of evergreens will provide the most benefit for blocking wind and snow. Due to our dry climate, we also recommend installing weed barrier fabric and a drip system for optimum survival and maintaining healthy trees. Weed barrier fabric must be checked annually for any girdling problems—simply cut the fabric away from the trunks. If you would like help developing a plan, please contact the CSFS La Junta District office. For specific windbreak and living snow fence guidelines visit the USDA National Agroforestry Center.

Tree Selection
Tree species selection for your windbreak is also very important. For southeastern Colorado we recommend a combination of eastern red cedar and Rocky Mountain juniper for your high-density evergreen rows. Austrian and ponderosa pine can also be used, but they are not as drought resistant and, in general, tend to survive better in Baca and Las Animas Counties. Recommended shrubs for southeastern Colorado windbreaks include sumac, lilac, native plum, Nanking cherry, European sage, and four-wing saltbush. Recommended deciduous trees include hackberry, honeylocust, lacebark elm, and bur oak. We strongly recommend installing a drip system if you plant any shrubs or deciduous trees as they come as bare root stock from the CSFS Nursery and require supplemental watering to become established. Other deciduous trees recommended include winterberry euonymus, Osage orange, and mulberry varieties. These varieties may be found at the State of Utah Lone Peak Conservation Nursery ((801) 571-0900) and the Oklahoma State Nursery ((800) 517-3673).

Ordering Seedling Trees and Shrubs
In southeastern Colorado, seedling order forms are available from the county CSU Cooperative Extension Office or the CSFS La Junta District officeand orders are placed through your county's CSU Cooperative Extension Office. To view the full selection of trees and shrubs available from the CSFS Nursery, visit their Buyer's Guide (1.2 MB PDF).

Ordering Tree Care Supplies
The CSFS La Junta District sells the following tree care supplies. Please call (719) 384-9087 for an order form.

• seedling/rabbit guards (4"x18")
• bamboo stakes
• fertilizer tablets
• root polymer
• weed barrier fabric rolls 6'x300'
• weed barrier fabric squares 6'x6'
• staples

Site Prep
Site preparation is done to catch and store moisture, reduce grass and weed competition, and prepare the soil for planting. Medium to heavy (clay) soils can be summer fallowed the year prior to planting. Sites can be left rough over the winter and then disked, harrowed, or roto-tilled just before planting. Sandy soils are best cultivated just before planting.

Cultivating to a depth of 12"-18" is ideal, especially when using implements for installation. If installing weed barrier, which is typically 6' wide, cultivate to a width of 8'-10'. This allows for enough loose soil to back fill onto the edges of the weed barrier. For more information on site prep visit the Kansas State Forest Service's Tree Planting Guide (External PDF).

Installing weed barrier fabric mulch.	Installing weed barrier fabric mulch.

Proper Handling and Planting of Seedlings
Seedlings are delicate. Mishandling can lead to higher mortality. Visit the Kansas State Forest Service's Tree Planting Guide (External PDF), or our own Nursery's Planting Guide for more information on how to care for your seedlings during storage and while planting, and how to properly plant bare root and potted stock.

Using a Tree Planter to plant seedlings.

Drip Irrigation
Drip irrigation will ensure a much higher survival rate for seedlings and established trees in our semi-arid climate, which is subject to frequent drought cycles. Visit "Drip Irrigation", "Water Conservation: Drip Irrigation" (External PDF), or DripWorks for more information on drip irrigation. The Kiowa County Conservation District and the Cheyenne County Conservation District sell drip irrigation materials and will help you plan your drip system if you live within those counties.

Installing a drip irrigation system.

Mulching
Mulching in southeastern Colorado's semi-arid climate greatly reduces seedling and tree mortality. It reduces water competition from weeds and grass, and also reduces moisture loss from the soil. For information on using and installing weed barrier fabric visit "Weed Barrier Fabric Mulch for Tree and Shrub Plantings" (171 KB PDF). For information on different types of mulches visit "Mulches for Home Grounds". Weed barrier fabric mulch can be ordered from the CSFS La Junta District office, Kiowa County Conservation District and the Cheyenne County Conservation District.

Fertilizing
Fertilizer use on new seedlings is not generally a good idea. Do not use manure at the time of planting—it contains high levels of nitrogen that will burn the tender seedlings. In most cases, your trees will not need to be fertilized. Over fertilization causes unnatural rapid growth, which leads to weak, large leaders. It also reduces the plant's density. It is best to have your soils tested first before applying fertilizer; contact your local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service center for soils information. If you must apply fertilizer, let the seedlings grow for one or two seasons before applying a low nitrogen fertilizer. Apply nitrogen at a rate of three pounds per thousand square feet of area to be covered. Click here for more information on fertilizing trees and shrubs.

Maintaining your Windbreak
To ensure long term survival and healthy trees, maintenance is very critical. Supplemental watering, weed control, proper/timely pruning, protection from wildlife and livestock, monitoring for insect and diseases, replacing dead trees, and monitoring weed barrier fabric for girdling are all practices that will help your trees live long and healthy lives. Visit the National Agroforestry Center's Windbreak Management Guide for more information on these topics.

The final product: A proper installation will lead to the success of your new windbreak.

Please contact the CSFS La Junta District office at (719) 384-9087 for more information on planning, installing, and maintaining windbreaks.

Agroforestry Links

• USDA National Agroforestry Center
• Basic Windbreak Design
• Windbreaks for Livestock Operations
• Field Windbreaks
• Windbreaks for Snow Management
• Windbreaks and Wildlife
• Windbreak Management (weed control, mulching, protection, pruning, insects and disease, herbicide use, fertilization)
• North Dakota Tree Handbook

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Common Insects & Diseases in Southeast Colorado

Remember, the best defense against insects and diseases is to maintain a healthy tree through proper watering, proper pruning, and protecting the bark from weed-whip and lawnmower damage. For detailed information on maintaining healthy trees in southeastern Colorado, please open the "For the Health of Your Trees" article. Also look under Arboriculture in our community forestry section.

Read CSFS La Junta District's Insect and Disease Report for 2004 (20 KB PDF).

Most of the listed insects and diseases listed below can be found on the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension's Web Site or in their Planttalk Colorado™ Insect and Disease Section.

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Piñon - Juniper Management

Thinning Piñon/Juniper Forests in Southeastern CO (57 KB PDF)

Piñon-Juniper Forest Management Links

USDAFS Management of the Piñon-Juniper Rangeland
Piñon-Juniper Woodland

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Tamarisk Management

"Tamarisk in Southeast Colorado" - 6/2/2005 Powerpoint Presentation

Tackling Tamarisk—Can We Do It?

An invasive plant has been hitting headlines during the past few years: tamarisk. From rivers to intermittent arroyos, tamarisk has taken over many of southeastern Colorado's waterways. Why is tamarisk "so bad?" some folks ask. Tamarisk chokes out native vegetation by dropping salts from its foliage onto the ground. The ground then becomes highly alkaline, which is beneficial for the tamarisk but deadly for native plants. Wildlife use of tamarisk is very limited or none. The seeds are too tiny for most to use and the plants do not lend themselves very well to nesting habitat. Tamarisk grows so thick in some areas that wildlife can hardly pick their way through the impossibly dense thickets—this is also true for people and livestock. In our riparian forests, tamarisk has become a ladder fuel, putting forests and the people who live in those watersheds at risk from the effects of unnatural wildland fires. Tamarisk also causes sediment buildup and severely chanelizes waterways. It has been estimated that one mature plant can use up to 200 gallons of water a day during the growing season if it has access to that water (i.e. a high water table).

The next question then arises, "why try to wage battle against this plant—there's too much of it?" The question really is, "what will happen if we don't do anything?" We will probably never totally eliminate tamarisk, but why, with all of the problems it creates, should we let it continue to encroach. In fairly manageable watersheds like the Purgatoire river, tamarisk is manageable at this point and could feasibly be controlled within the next decade: hence the formation of Tackling Tamarisk on the Purgatoire in 2004.

Tamarisk Flower Picture courtesy of the Tamarisk Coalition	Mature Tamarisk Plant Picture courtesy of the Tamarisk Coalition

Tackling Tamarisk on the Purgatoire is a collaborative project between public agencies, non-profit organizations, and private landowners in the Purgatoire river watershed. Initiated by the Colorado State Forest Service, La Junta District (Shelly Van Landingham), and The Nature Conservancy out of La Veta (Ryan Boggs), this project has brought together many concerned partners: The Natural Resources Conservation Service, The National Park Service, The Bureau of Reclamation, Southeast Colorado RC&D, USDA Forest Service Comanche National Grassland, US Department of Defense Piñon Canyon, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado State Parks, Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Branson-Trinchera and Spanish Peaks-Purgatoire River Conservation Districts, The City of Trinidad, The Tamarisk Coalition, Denver University, and private landowners. This project, still in the planning phase, begins groundwork in the fall of 2005. Thanks to all who have committed and will continue to support this project and its future success!!

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