| Montrose
District - Forest Management and Stewardship
Overview
. Colorado Forest Legacy
. Tree Farm Program
CSFS Seedling Tree Program
. Seedling Tree Care Program
Tree Planting Assistance
Forest Management Assistance through
CSFS . Timber Cruising /
Mapping
Insect and Disease Surveys
. Timber Sale Preparation
/ Administration
Forest Agricultural Property
Tax . Cost-share Assistance
Programs
Consultant and Forest Industries
Referrals
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Overview
The forest management function of the Colorado
State Forest Service (CSFS) is intended to provide
sound forestry recommendations and implementation
assistance to private landowners, communities,
and cooperating agencies, in order to improve
forest amenities such as tree health, wildlife
habitat, soil and water conservation, forest products,
and recreational opportunities. We accomplish
this mission by providing a variety of forest
management services, and through our seedling
tree program.
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Colorado Forest Legacy
Development of the Colorado's forested areas
poses an increasing threat to maintaining the
integrity of our state's valuable forest lands.
Intact forest lands supply timber products, wildlife
habitat, soil and watershed protection, aesthetics,
and recreational opportunities. However, as these
areas are fragmented and disappear, so do the
benefits they provide. While local governments
often guide development away from the most sensitive
areas through traditional land use controls (such
as zoning and performance standards), sometimes
these measures are not sufficient to fully protect
the forested component of our natural resource
base.
The Forest
Legacy Program (FLP), a federally-funded and
state-administered program, supports efforts to
protect private forest lands which are environmentally,
economically, and socially critical. Designed
to encourage the protection of privately-owned
forest lands, FLP is an entirely voluntary program.
To maximize the public benefits it achieves, the
program focuses on the acquisition of partial
interests in privately owned forest lands (conservation
easements). FLP helps the states develop and carry
out their forest conservation plans. It encourages
and supports acquisition of conservation easements
(legally binding agreements transferring a negotiated
set of property rights from one party to another)
without removing the property from private ownership.
Most FLP conservation easements restrict development,
require sustainable forestry practices, and protect
other values.
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The CSFS Seedling Tree Program
Availability of Nursery-grown Seedling
Trees
Our seedling tree
nursery, located in Ft. Collins, grows over
2 million seedlings each year. These trees are
available at nominal cost to rural landowners
with at least two acres of land. The aim of our
seedling tree program is to encourage landowners
to plant effective windbarriers to protect buildings,
cropland, and feedlots, and to aid erosion control,
wildlife
habitat (190 KB PDF),
reforestation, and Christmas
tree plantations. Participating landowners
must agree not to use the trees for ornamental
or landscaping purposes, and not to resell the
trees as living plants. Contact your local nursery
for ornamental needs.
Seedling tree order forms are available through
our seedling
tree cooperators, usually your local Colorado
State University Cooperative Extension or
Soil
Conservation District, or through our
office or the state
nursery. More than 50 species of trees and
shrubs are available in bundles of 50 (bare root)
or lots of 30 (potted). A variety of deciduous
and coniferous species are available beginning
in late October; the best selection is assured
by ordering before mid-January. Trees are delivered
to a central distribution point in the spring;
you will be notified of the exact pickup date
and location after your order is placed.
The 28-page full color Buyer’s
Guide (1.25 MB PDF)
is now available on-line.
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Seedling Tree Care Program
Our tree care program provides you with tips
to help your trees survive. We offer a single
source catalog for seedling
survival supplies (91 KB PDF)
at reasonable prices because we buy in bulk and
pass along the savings. Materials available through
our office include drip irrigation kits, polymer
soil additive/root dip, tree guards, tree shades,
animal repellent, and weed
barrier fabric (135 KB PDF).
Throughout the winter, we offer seedling tree
care workshops to demonstrate the use of these
various products and show you how to plan,
plant, and care for your trees (1.84
MB PDF) to get increased survival and growth.
For those who wish to install a drip irrigation
kit, installation
instructions (53 KB PDF)
are available.
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Tree Planting Assistance
CSFS is available for on-site tree planting assistance,
from the design and planning of large-scale plantings
to the actual installation of windbreaks, wildlife
habitat, or reforestation projects. We have several
tree planting implements available for rent, including
tree planting plows, and a special fabric implement
that lays down weed barrier fabric and covers
the edges in one operation.
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Forest Management Assistance through CSFS
Forest Management and Timber Harvest
Plans
Good management begins with a sound management
plan designed to meet the landowner’s needs.
A management plan will identify the landowner’s
objectives for the property, describe the resources
present, and recommend specific practices needed
to attain these objectives. The plan will involve
an in-depth inventory of the timber, as well as
the other resources on the property such as range
or wildlife. When writing a management plan, we
will often call on other resource professionals
from agencies such as the Natural
Resources Conservation Service or the Colorado
Division of Wildlife for their expertise in
order to make the plan as interdisciplinary as
possible. CSFS is a sponsor of the Forest Stewardship
Program, a national effort for forest planning
and recognition for forest landowners. CSFS is
also the primary review agency for county planning
departments that require logging plans as part
of a land use application.
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Timber Cruising / Mapping
Timber cruising
is the process of determining the amount (in cubic
feet, board feet, or weight) of timber on a given
unit (usually acres) of land. Accepted statistical
sampling procedures must be used and the accuracy
of the “cruise” must be calculated
in order to be valid. A qualified professional
forester with no financial
interest in the sale of your timber should
conduct your timber cruise. Sometimes, a landowner
may be interested in simply cruising or mapping
a particular property or timber stand to determine
possible sale potential or value. The CSFS has
developed a spread sheet and stand-alone DOS executable
programs for volume determination of all commercial
timber species in Colorado. In addition, we incorporate
the latest GPS
and GIS
capabilities into our mapping of your forested
property.
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Insect and Disease Surveys
CSFS is available to assess your timber for insect
and disease occurrence and to make recommendations
for control where needed. This service is provided
as part of any management plan and is also available
to individual lot owners or homeowner associations
who are often concerned with specific pests such
as Ips
Beetles (298
KB PDF), Mountain
Pine Beetle
(281 KB PDF), Western
Cedar Bark Beetles (62
KB PDF), or Western
Spruce Budworm (136 KB PDF).
We have a diagnostic lab available through Colorado
State University for sending samples for further
study.
Learn more about Insects
and Diseases in Colorado.
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Timber Sale Preparation / Administration
A wise seller will know the amount and value
of any commodity for sale; this is especially
true when selling timber. We offer commercial
timber sale layout, marking, cruising (volume
determination), and traversing for acreage calculation.
We can also prepare timber sale contracts and
have an extensive bidder’s list to assist
in offering a sale, whether it’s a few cords
of firewood or several million board feet of sawlogs.
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Forest Agricultural Property Tax
In 1990, the Colorado legislature enacted House
Bill 1229, which allows certain forested properties
to qualify for agricultural property tax status.
A landowner who owns at least 40 acres of forested
land and is willing to manage the property to
produce wood products is now eligible to receive
agricultural tax status without necessarily grazing
or farming the land (CRS
39-1-102 - 69 KB PDF).
CSFS is responsible for annually reviewing these
properties and making recommendations to county
tax assessors regarding “Forest Ag”
eligibility.
Learn more about "Forest
Ag."
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Cost-share Assistance Programs
Several cost-share programs are available to
private landowners. For information about these
programs, see Landowner
Assistance Programs for Forestry/Agroforestry
Practices in Colorado (71 KB
PDF).
Learn more about Homeowner
& Landowner Assistance through the CSFS.
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Consultant and Forest Industries Referrals
The Montrose District maintains a directory of
forest
based private professionals (72
KB PDF) who are available to assist landowners
with their forest management needs. In addition,
we assist the production of a Colorado
Forest Industries Directory (updated 2004,
368 KB PDF) that lists many
of the primary and secondary processors, fuelwood
suppliers, and logging contractors available to
private landowners.
CSFS emphasizes on-the-ground implementation
of sound forest management principles. Most of
the above services provided through our office
require a user fee, which is covered through a
standard CSFS service agreement that outlines
what we will do for you at what cost.
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