The Colorado State Forest Service is adaptive and responsive to changing needs. The agency is recognized as a leader in providing forestry information and education to Coloradans.

Agency Profile

An Overview of the "Modern" Colorado State Forest Service

In 1955, the Colorado General Assembly established the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) as a division of the Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now known as Colorado State University.

While our focus has changed throughout the decades in response to emerging forestry issues, our commitment to providing timely, relevant forestry information and education to Colorado citizens has not. Following is a glance of where we are now and a look back at how we got here.

Where We are Now - Current Insect & Disease Issues

Tree mortality from the current mountain pine beetle infestation is unprecedented in Colorado's recorded history. Since the infestation began in 1996, it has been intensifying and spreading to new areas. In 2009, MPB continued to be the dominant forest pest in Colorado. Active infestations continued on 1.02 million acres of the state’s 1.5 million acres of lodgepole/limber pine forests.

In recent years, Colorado's forests have experienced several large-scale insect infestations, from ips beetles in the piñon forests of southwestern and southeastern Colorado, to mountain pine beetles in northern lodgepole pine forests. In both cases, the infestations have or will result in tree mortality rates that exceed 90 percent.

Spruce beetle likely will be Colorado's next statewide forest insect challenge, and outbreaks are expanding in many locations throughout the state. In addition, the presence of western balsam bark beetle and root diseases, which are native to subalpine fir forests, has increased during the past two decades.

All of these issues are an indication of landscape level changes that will affect Colorado's forests. The catastrophic events we are observing will resolve themselves ecologically and another forest will follow; the question now is how to manage the next forest.

Addressing Priorities

Substantial agency emphasis is placed on wildfire preparedness, mitigation and response with the objective of meaningfully reducing risks to people and communities while simultaneously improving forest condition. Large-scale cooperative efforts such as the Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership, Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative and the Front Range Watershed Wildfire Protection Working Group reflect this interagency approach.

In addition, recent legislation reflects the increasing concern over managing our forests so they can continue to provide all of the benefits on which we rely including water, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities.

The Colorado State Forest Service currently consists of 157 permanent and temporary hourly employees, 17 district offices and a budget of more than $24 million. Approximately 57 percent of the agency's funding comes from the State and Private Forestry Program of the U.S. Forest Service.

The CSFS delivers a range of programs, including forest management, wildland fire, urban and community forestry and conservation education. It also provides staff support to the Division of Forestry within the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, per legislation passed in 2000.

In 2006, realignments at Colorado State University resulted in a closer connection between the CSFS and the Warner College of Natural Resources (WCNR). As an agency within the WCNR, CSFS personnel collaborate with CSU's natural resource scientists on research projects, and transfer knowledge gained from applicable research to land managers and other stakeholders.

Back to the Beginning — the Evolution of the Colorado State Forest Service

In 1965, a decade after the establishment of CSFS, legislators expanded the agency's responsibilities and designated the CSFS as the state entity to "provide for the protection of forest resources of the state from fire, insects and disease" and to educate private forest landowners in management techniques.

At the time of this expansion, the CSFS operated on a budget of $392,000 and included only 29 employees divided among six field districts and a state office. Primary program areas were forest management; rural fire assistance; insect and disease management; marketing and utilization; and timber resource inventory. The agency also operated a seedling tree nursery and a shop for repairing and refurbishing fire equipment.

Expanding Opportunities

Insect and disease concerns dominated the agency's attention during the 1970s and led to significant increases in both personnel and funding. High-profile incidents included the spread of Dutch elm disease in many of the state's urban areas, particularly the hard-hit city of Denver, and the tremendous expansion of mountain pine beetle populations along the Front Range and I-70 corridor. By 1975, the agency's budget had reached $1.6 million and was almost evenly split between state and federal dollars.

The passage of the federal Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 brought new program opportunities to all state forestry agencies by authorizing the suite of programs that continues to be the basis for cooperative forestry delivery today. In Colorado, the Act helped the CSFS roll its continuing Dutch elm disease activities into a new Community Forestry Program and launched the agency into the development of an Agency Master Plan, the precursor to current and ongoing strategic planning.

The late 1970s and early 1980s also solidified the relationship between the CSFS and the State Board of Land Commissioners. By 1980, the CSFS was working on state lands under 10-year "silvicultural leases" that covered CSFS' costs and provided funding for additional forest land improvement projects.

Wildfire's Growing Role

Although the agency had been involved in rural fire assistance for many years, it was not until 1989 that wildland fire began to take on the pervasive role it plays today. As early as 1966, the CSFS launched the Emergency Fire Fund (EFF) with 16 county contracts and contributions of $16,000. The 1978 Murphy Gulch Fire west of Denver marked the fund's first use. The CSFS did not begin active participation in interagency incident management teams or the national red card qualification system until 1976.

A statewide Incident Command System came to Colorado in 1981, followed by the first initial attack aircraft and interagency fire response agreements in 1986. But it was the 1989 Black Tiger Fire in Boulder County that was a sign of things to come. That event was the worst in 30 years and resulted in the loss of 60 structures. The Black Tiger Fire received both EFF assistance and a FEMA disaster designation, only the second time such a designation was enacted in Colorado's history.

Emerging Forestry Issues Lead to Increased Legislative Activity

Legislative activity at the state and national level resulted in significant program changes for the CSFS as the agency entered the decade of the 1990s. The Colorado General Assembly passed a tax relief measure in the spring of 1990 for forest landowners actively managing their property and gave the CSFS responsibility for assessing subsequent applications and compliance. During the same year, Congress finalized the 1990 Farm Bill, which included programs such as Forest Stewardship, Forest Legacy and Urban and Community Forestry, and resulted in a subsequent influx of new dollars for state forestry agencies.

By 1995, the Colorado State Forest Service included 95 employees, 15 district offices and a total budget of $4.5 million. The trend toward wildland fire that began in 1989 continued throughout the 1990s fueled by events such as the 1994 Storm King Fire, the 1996 Buffalo Creek Fire and the onset of record drought conditions that increased forest fire susceptibility across the state.

Wildfire Becomes the Highest Priority

The dramatic 2000 fire season launched the CSFS into a scale and pace of activity previously unknown to the agency. Approximately 123,000 fires burned more than 8.4 million acres nationwide and sparked an outcry of public concern. Then-Pres. Bill Clinton responded to this concern by directing the development of a National Fire Plan, which Congress later supported with substantial funding for fire preparedness and suppression, and hazardous fuels reduction. The CSFS annual budget increased from $6.8 million to $12.1 million in a single year.

With an estimated 1 million Coloradans living in areas at high risk from wildland fire, the CSFS heightened its attention on the wildland-urban interface and on projects designed to reduce hazardous fuels through cross-boundary landscape-scale management. The 2002 fire season, the worst in the state's recorded history, underscored the need for this approach. More than 2,000 fires burned 502,000 acres, forced the evacuation of 81,000 residents and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures.

Support from the Governor and the Colorado General Assembly has made available state-owned wildland-urban interface fire engines for local, county and national response. Currently, 10 engines are pre-positioned at CSFS district offices or local fire departments. Four of the engines housed at CSFS district locations are staffed by crews that include three permanent agency personnel on each engine.

These engines are available to complement local resources in combating wildland fires in interface areas and to assist in hazardous fuels mitigation work.

Complex Forestry Issues Link the Past with the Present

Complex forestry issues throughout Colorado's history, as well as development in the wildland-urban interface, increasing demands for timely forestry information, and competing demands for state and federal funding have created numerous challenges for the CSFS. To maintain the ability to continue delivering relevant, timely information and service to Coloradans, it is imperative that the Colorado State Forest Service consider these challenges and prioritize use of limited resources.

As history has demonstrated, the CSFS is flexible, resilient and responsive to changing needs. The agency also is recognized as a leader in providing forestry information and education to Coloradans. It's a proud legacy on which to build the next 50 years of history.