Today, the Colorado State Forest Service celebrated a groundbreaking for new facilities at the CSFS Seedling Tree Nursery in Fort Collins. This renovation is fundamental to meeting critical reforestation needs in Colorado and other western states. Bills passed in two previous sessions of the Colorado General Assembly allocated $10.3 million for the state-of-the-art facility, and the U.S. Forest Service contributed $5.3 million to the project as well.
The CSFS Seedling Tree Nursery, located on the Foothills Campus of Colorado State University, is the state’s leader in producing low-cost, Colorado-grown seedling trees and shrubs for conservation purposes. It was established in 1957 and needs major upgrades to meet current reforestation and conservation needs that continue to increase due to climate change and recent catastrophic wildfires and floods.
CSFS Director and State Forester Matt McCombs welcomed partners and contractors to celebrate the nursery’s groundbreaking, acknowledging that it took many supporters and advocates to launch this huge renovation for the nursery that will have ripple effects across the state and region.
“We all know it’s not a matter of if but when we have our next Colorado megafire. You look at Colorado’s burned landscape, and [very few] of those lands that were burned have actually had reforestation treatments after,” said Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “With this nursery upgrade, we’re going to be able to do more around the state of Colorado, and we’re also going to be able to help our surrounding states.”
McCombs, Gibbs, Dean A. Alonso Aguirre from the Warner College of Natural Resources, Larimer County Commissioners Jody Shadduck-McNally and John Kefalas, and Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt all spoke to the impact this innovative facility will have on conservation efforts in Colorado and across the West. With upgraded facilities, the CSFS expects to grow between 1 and 2 million container seedlings a year.
“This will be the epicenter for the region for reforestation, recovery and for us to have a bright future for our forests to be thriving and adapting to conditions. This will be a key component for our future,” said Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally.
The nursery is situated on 130 acres, allowing for field production of bare-root seedlings and greenhouse space for container plants. With sustainability top-of-mind, the new nursery design improves existing buildings and adds new greenhouse and shadehouse structures.
Kristin Garrison, the CSFS associate director for forest planning and implementation who leads the nursery construction project, said the planned nursery expansion will both improve the quality of seedlings produced and reduce the labor needs and cost to produce them. Together, this will result in a higher percentage of saleable seedlings and increase overall production capacity of the nursery. The new design includes the following features:
- Upgraded and expanded greenhouses
- A new headhouse to mechanize seeding operations
- Upgraded and expanded shadehouse structures and irrigation systems
These investments in creating a modern nursery facility will ensure the CSFS is able to increase its annual production of seedling trees that are in high demand to restore and protect critical watersheds after wildfire and flood events on Colorado’s forests.
CSU Facilities, Hausmann Construction and 2WR and urban-gro have been indispensable partners in the design, planning and construction of the new nursery facilities.