Five Year Review | Colorado State Forest Service

The 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan is the road map to improve forest health across Colorado. Created by the Colorado State Forest Service and its many partners, the plan provides an in-depth analysis of forest trends and guidance to ensure our forests persevere for future generations. The Colorado State Forest Service offers this five year review of accomplishments toward goals in the plan and will work with partners to update the plan in 2030.

Colorado’s Accomplishments Toward Forest Action Plan Goals

The 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan sets goals for stewardship of the state’s forests by theme. Select a theme to learn about accomplishments toward goals in the plan for that theme, which align with national priorities for forest action plans: Conserve, Protect and Enhance.

You can also explore statewide cross-theme accomplishments toward goals.

Colorado Forest Conditions - Forest Action Plan — Forest Conditions

Living with Wildfire — Living With Wildfire

Forests Provide Watershed Protection — Watershed Protection

Colorado’s forest habitats are home to diverse wildlife — Forest Wildlife

Projects Across Colorado

The 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan includes a priority composite map that identifies subwatersheds where multiple goals in the Forest Conditions, Living With Wildfire and Watershed Protection themes of the plan can be achieved.

This map shows the locations of select projects completed by the CSFS and its partners in priority areas of Colorado from 2020 through 2024.

The projects on this map are compiled through the Colorado Forest Tracker.

Wise Investments Where They Are Needed Most

Dan Gibbs and Matt McCombs — Dan Gibbs (top) and Matthew M. McCombs

Colorado’s forests are central to our state’s economy and our way of life. They provide the water we drink, the air we breathe, the places we play, and the beauty and opportunity that define our state.

The 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan provides a science-based, collaborative roadmap for protecting our forests and the many benefits they provide. Looking back over the past five years, it is both motivating and humbling to see where investments from the State of Colorado and its local and federal partners have made a meaningful difference for our forests and communities.

Through shared stewardship, we invested wisely, completing important projects to enhance forest health and reduce wildfire risk in areas where we can make the greatest impact. Eighty-nine percent of the projects completed by a diversity of partners and tracked by the state occurred in areas deemed a very high (25%) or high (64%) priority in the Forest Action Plan. Acres managed increased from nearly 70,000 acres in 2020 to roughly 95,000 acres in 2024, reaching over 140,000 acres in 2023, according to data compiled in the Colorado Forest Tracker as of February 2026.

Nonetheless, we know there is more to do to ensure the long-term health and resiliency of forests and communities in Colorado. Over the past five years, Colorado has experienced its largest and most destructive wildfires, while outbreaks of forest pests continue to expand their footprints. As our climate grows warmer and drier in Colorado, these trends will continue. Thankfully, we have a Forest Action Plan that spans all landownership in Colorado, ensuring we continue to invest where we can make the greatest impact.

We invite you to explore the themes and maps in this five-year review of Colorado’s Forest Action Plan to learn about our collective accomplishments. Then join us as we look to the next five years and beyond to enhance the health of our forests and safeguard what makes Colorado so special.

– Dan Gibbs, Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director
– Matthew M. McCombs, State Forester and Director

Forest Legacy Program

The Colorado State Forest Service completed an evaluation of the Forest Legacy Program as part of the five-year review of the 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan. View the Colorado Forest Legacy Program Assessment of Need.

Access the 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan

2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan (56 MB PDF)
Appendix 1: Colorado State-Wide Forest Legacy Assessment of Need (8.7 MB PDF)
Appendix 2: Forest Action Plan Climate Change Risk Matrix Flow (140 KB PDF)
Appendix 3: GIS Methods and Metadata (120 KB PDF)
Appendix 4: CSFS Forest Action Plan External Stakeholder Meetings (100 KB PDF)
Appendix 5: Digitized External Outreach Map (8.5 MB PDF)
Appendix 6: Infrastructure Maps (1.9 MB PDF)
Appendix 7: Average Costs by Forest Cover Type and CSFS Area, Including Case Studies (300 KB PDF)
Appendix 8: Resource Strategy: Existing Program Alignment with Theme Goals and Strategies (320 KB PDF)
Appendix 9: Colorado National Priorities Five-Year Report (126 KB PDF)

Acknowledgements 

Special thanks to the Colorado State Forest Service staff and external partners who reviewed and provided accomplishments and data for the five year review of the 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan. Thank you as well to the CSFS staff and many partners who contributed to the plan during its development.

The Forest Action Plan (Colorado Statewide Forest Resource Assessment & Strategy) was initiated in response to a mandate from the USDA Forest Service and contained in the Forestry Title of the 2008 Farm Bill (P.L. 110-234). This five-year review was conducted under the leadership of the Colorado State Forest Service and in accordance with requirements from the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.

The 2020 Colorado Forest Action Plan Five Year Review was published in March 2026.