Reduce wildfire risk by cutting a holiday tree? Yes, please.
CSFS foresters manage a wildfire mitigation project at Log Hill Mesa in Ouray County as part of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The CSFS Montrose Field Office saw an opportunity to include community members in the CWPP project: Invite high school students to harvest holiday trees for local families.
So in early December, six students in the Olathe High School Future Farmers of America chapter drove out to Log Hill Mesa. These students got a lot done in one afternoon:
- Learned about wildfire reduction techniques
- Reduced the fuel load in a pre-identified project area
- Spread holiday cheer to local families
- Had a little fun!
At the end of the day, the high school students delivered 34 piñon and juniper trees from both private and Bureau of Land Management lands to nearby families.
The trees the students harvested had been marked for mastication. This is a forest management technique that uses a machine to grind, shred or chunk trees and other vegetation to reduce the amount of short ladder fuels that can carry wildfire into tree canopies. This specific area was identified in the 2011 Ouray County CWPP as having a very high hazard rating. Soon Ouray County will have public meetings to collect input on an updated CWPP.
CSFS staff at the Montrose Field Office as well as staff at Olathe High School and the Hilltop Family Resource Center helped make this educational, joy-spreading afternoon possible.
