2024 Forest Health Report
Each year, forest health reports provide information to the Colorado General Assembly and the general public about the health and condition of forests across Colorado, as well as the progress the Colorado State Forest Service is making in addressing critical forest health issues in our state.
Statewide Forest Health Issues
Forest Health Issues by Region of Colorado
Across Colorado, the Colorado State Forest Service is working with residents, communities and partners to improve forest health on a local level. Explore what’s happening by region of the state.
Explore Carbon in Colorado’s Forests
Trees play an important role in our climate by absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and storing it in their trunks, branches, leaves and roots. To inform sustainable forest management and climate solutions, the Colorado State Forest Service developed a framework to account for this carbon and published a report that estimates the amount of carbon captured, stored and released by Colorado’s forests.
Access the Colorado Forest Carbon Inventory and explore supporting information, including a data dashboard, podcast, frequently asked questions and key definitions.
Mitigation Works to Protect Forests, Communities
The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles thrust the importance of reducing wildfire risk back into the national spotlight. It is a reality we know all too well in Colorado following the megafires in 2020 and the Marshall Fire in 2021. All of us must continue to work diligently to prepare homes and communities for inevitable wildfires in Colorado – the good news is we also know that mitigation works.
In this report, we highlight how a fuels reduction project helped firefighters contain an abandoned campfire that sparked a wildfire near Breckenridge. We explore the science that drives our work at the Colorado State Forest Service to promote resilient forests, reduce wildfire risk and protect watersheds through forest management. Finally, we track how insects and diseases are spreading in Colorado’s forests and changing fuel dynamics as they leave dead and dying trees in their wake.
Colorado is on the right path in this era of megafires and we must stay the course. At the CSFS, we have leveraged significant investments from the Colorado General Assembly, supported by Governor Polis, to increase the pace and scale of forest management and ensure Colorado is wildfire ready.
In Colorado, we embrace a shared stewardship approach to managing forests alongside our federal, state, local and tribal partners and the public. Together, we are showing up where we are needed most to protect our forests, communities and what makes Colorado so special.
– Matthew M. McCombs, State Forester and Director
Forests Are Foundation for Colorado’s Economy, Quality of Life
Colorado’s forests are the foundation for the state’s economy and our quality of life. Over 24 million acres of forests reside in our state, holding and protecting water resources and water supply for Coloradans and beyond. These forests are essential and critical habitat for wildlife, our water supply and also are at risk of degradation from impacts of climate change.
Working in shared stewardship across all lands in Colorado is the best approach to managing our forest resources. The State of Colorado has many effective programs to enhance our landscapes and reduce wildfire risk. I am proud of the work completed through the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program, Wildfire Ready Watersheds and Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation grant program. To date, the Polis Administration has invested over $145 million in forest and wildfire resiliency.
I want to thank the Colorado State Forest Service for their dedication on tracking the health of our forests and also for highlighting the successes in 2024. Colorado is one lightning strike and one unattended campfire from our next megafire. We must continue working at the pace that our forests and landscape need to ensure they are resilient for future generations.
– Dan Gibbs, Colorado Department of Natural Resources Executive Director
- 2023 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests
- 2022 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests
- 2021 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (9 MB PDF)
- 2020 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (9 MB PDF)
- 2019 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.5 MB PDF)
- 2018 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2 MB PDF)
- 2017 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2.2 MB PDF)
- 2016 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (4.0 MB PDF)
- 2015 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.0 MB PDF)
- 2014 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2.6 MB PDF); Map: 2014 Insect & Disease Activity in Colorado Forests (178 KB PDF); Map: 1996-2014 Forest Insect & Disease Progression in Colorado Map (167 KB PDF)
- 2014 Colorado Forest Insect and Disease Update – A Supplement to the 2014 Forest Health Report (1.3 MB PDF)
- 2013 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2.1 MB PDF); Map: 2013 Insect & Disease Activity in Colorado Forests (154 KB PDF); Map: 1996-2013 Forest Insect & Disease Progression in Colorado Map (180 KB PDF)
- 2013 Colorado Forest Insect and Disease Update – A Supplement to the 2013 Forest Health Report (1.4 MB PDF)
- 2012 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.9 MB PDF); Map: 2012 Insect & Disease Activity in Colorado Forests (164 KB PDF); Map: 1996-2012 Progression of Forest Insect & Disease in Colorado (205 KB PDF)
- 2011 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.1 MB PDF)
- 2010 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.7 MB PDF)
- 2009 Report: The Health of Colorado’s Forests (7.0 MB PDF)
- 2008 Report: The Health of Colorado’s Forests (9.5 MB PDF); Executive Summary (4.5 MB PDF)
- 2007 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (3.4 MB PDF); Wildland-Urban Interface Insert (626 KB PDF)
- 2006 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2.6 MB PDF)
- 2005 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (7.7 MB PDF)
- 2004 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (2.7 MB PDF)
- 2003 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (1.3 MB PDF)
- 2002 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests (1.3 MB PDF)
- 2001 Report on the Condition of Colorado’s Forests (1.3 MB PDF)
- Colorado Forest Health Report 1992-1995 Baseline Assessment (3.9 MB PDF)
Do You Love Forests as Much as We Do?
Photography: Masthead: Field Peterson, CSFS; Insects and Diseases: Dylan Eimer, CSFS; Wildfire-Resilient Forests: Amy Bulger, CSFS; Healthy Watersheds: B. Cotton, CSU; Carbon in Colorado’s Forests: Field Peterson, CSFS