January - June 2007

February 3 & 10, 2007

Slash Pile Burning at the Ben Delatour Scout Camp. Activities included igniting slash piles, securing the area around each slash pile and mop-up of many slash piles scattered throughout the camp. It was a very successful volunteer project. Learning components included reviewing: Colorado Smoke Management Program (Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment) and the permit process; wildland firefighter mandatory personal protective equipment; safety; career opportunities; and current wildland fire research being conducted at Colorado State University.

February 14-17, 2007

CSFS Volunteer Chainsaw Training: Building Skills for Safe and Effective Mitigation of Hazardous Wildfire Fuels. This chainsaw training prepared CSFS volunteer sawyers to safely operate chainsaws when participating in volunteer events that involve mitigating hazardous fuels. The chainsaw training included three in-class evening sessions and two full-day field classes.

April 14, 2007

CSUnity. CSUnity is one day of service, community, leadership and Ram pride. The program originated 11 years ago as a campus program for students. Hundreds of students participate. Every spring semester, the CSFS Volunteer Program partners with CSUnity. In 2007, students helped with various landscaping needs at the CSFS headquarters. Students learned about the history of the CSFS including its ties to Colorado State University.

April 21, 2007

Windsor, Colorado, Arbor Day Tree Race and Tree Sale. CSFS Volunteers helped to facilitate the 2nd Annual Arbor Day 5K Run/Walk and the 7th Annual Arbor Day Tree Sale. The 5K race was held in the morning and 2 CSFS volunteers participated in the race (one of our volunteers, Ashish Sharma, won 2nd place!). Volunteers also helped the Windsor Parks and Recreation Forestry Division and the Windsor Tree Board distribute trees to residents. It is a great way to celebrate Arbor Day and we look forward to helping in the future!

April 23, 2007

Woodland Park Seedling Tree Delivery. Volunteers helped the CSFS Woodland Park District with the arrival of more than 55,000 seedling trees.

April 28, 2007

Boy Scouts of America Forestry Merit Badge. CSFS Volunteers helped Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts earn their Forestry Merit Badge at the Ben Delatour Scout Camp. Suddenly there were hundreds of children in the forest! It was awesome. It was also arduous.

May 9, 2007

Ricks Center "Treasures on the Trail." Students from the Ricks Center School (Denver University) learned about the urban forestry profession, factors that influence seed germination, the process of growing trees in a nursery and maintenance of a nursery. It was great to see the children's eyes when they saw thousands of "baby trees."

May 19, 2007

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Wildland Fire Mitigation. The CSFS Volunteer Program (including 2 CSFS volunteers) played a support role for the Pikes Peak Wildfire Prevention Partners during their wildfire mitigation efforts. It was exciting to see a giraffe while I was carrying a chainsaw; that was a first for Ryan.

June 2, 2007

Black Forest Fuels Reduction at the Mulch Site. CSFS Volunteers helped mitigate fuels on a section of State Land in Black Forest, Colorado. Excessive material was removed and immediately taken to the Black Forest community mulch site. The mulch site is a unique community-driven and volunteer-powered site that accepts Black Forest residents' slash, which is produced from their own mitigation efforts. This is a one-of-a-kind place!

June 26, 2007

Windsor Sick Tree Calls. The Tree Doctors are in! The Windsor Town Forester invited professionals from around the area to go out in the community and diagnose sick trees and give recommendations to Windsor residents who made appointments for a sick tree call. Volunteers were asked to help the professionals, and several CSFS volunteers helped (but learned even more!). It was a fun night and everyone from the homeowner to the seasoned professional learned great information about sick trees including insects and disease issues. A HUGE thanks to Ken and the Town of Windsor for buying a delicious dinner for everyone.

June 29-30, 2007

Burland Ranch HOA Mt. Bailey Trail Construction. Volunteers from the Burland Ranch HOA and the Colorado State Forest Service have been building a trail that leads to the top of Mt. Bailey. The trail goes through a recently thinned forest (wildfire mitigation) and will act as an educational tool (i.e. demonstration area) once interpretive signage is installed. This was the second year (fifth work day) we have worked on the trail. We were able to "cut" the entire trail this year! There is more work to do, but we feel very good about the progress.