Healthy forests lead to healthy watersheds that provide drinking water to millions. In a changing climate, our forests need to be resilient in the face of drought, wildfire, insects and diseases to ensure water remains clean and accessible to people, wildlife and the landscape.
The Colorado State Forest Service and the City of Fort Collins are partners on a new project to protect the source of 25 percent of the city’s drinking water.
The annual forest health report, released today by the Colorado State Forest Service, details how ongoing warm temperatures and below-average precipitation create challenges for Colorado’s forests.
It is crucial for Colorado to protect its forested watersheds from the ever-present threat of wildfire to ensure residents and communities have water for drinking, agriculture and other uses. The Colorado Legislature recognizes this need and passed House Bill 22-1379 during the 2022 legislative session to fund projects that reduce wildfire fuels around high-priority watersheds and water infrastructure.
The Woodland Park Field Office of the Colorado State Forest Service received a $1 million Landscape Resilience Investment grant through the Colorado Department of Natural Resources Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) that will fund essential forest management activities near the North Catamount reservoir.
The CSFS works with Colorado Springs Utilities and the Pikes-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands under a Good Neighbor Agreement to reduce the impacts of a catastrophic wildfire on this municipal watershed that supplies water to residents of Colorado Springs.
The Colorado State Forest Service and partners garnered a 2021 Chief’s Honor award for work in Summit County to reduce wildfire fuels and improve forest health.
Northern Water will provide $500,000 to the Colorado State Forest Service over the next five years to fund proactive efforts that reduce fuels for wildfires in critical watersheds.
GOLDEN, Colo. – Colorado Springs Utilities, the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region and Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) announced their plans to invest $16 million, over a five-year period, in forest and watershed restoration projects.
