Woodland Park Healthy Forest Initiative

WPHFI Initiates Ecological Monitoring Program on the Long John West USFS Unit

Firewood @ Meadow Wood Sports Complex

With Spring on its way, the City has opened up the area south of Evergreen Heights Drive in Meadow Wood Sports Complex for firewood collection.  City and CUSP crews felled and limbed trees on this north-facing slope for fuels mitigation back in December.  Now that some of the snow and ice have melted, it is safe for citizens to collect the firewood. Please note that the steep bank prevents this area from being accessed by vehicles and that motorists should exercise caution when stopping or parking on Evergreen Heights Drive to collect firewood. For more information, call Amanda Brush, City Planner, at 687-5209.

More on Meadow Wood!

The Meadow Wood Project is moving forward as planned.  The approximately 15 acre project is really starting to take shape.  The double edge sword that is our mountain weather has provided ideal conditions to get work done at the heavily used and enjoyed Meadow Wood Park.  The Park, located at 2000 Evergreen Heights Dr., Woodland Park has grown from a dream into a destination. With over 43 acres, 2 regulation size synthetic turf soccer fields, 3 lighted ball fields, playground equipment, concession stand, 1 ice/inline hockey rink, 4 lighted tennis court, and a fitness trail the park provides ample opportunities for everyone. For more information on the park please visit – the parks department.

Continuing to expand the functionality of the park Woodland Park has invested not only in high class facilities but has also made a commitment to act as good neighbors.  Over the past five months CUSP, CSFS and City employees have reduced the fuel loads and stand density on a six acre section above and below the playing fields.  The projects goals are to “thin from below” or as Matt Matwijec, CUSP Forester, puts it “removing small and suppressed trees will increase the vigor of the remaining trees” The goals are to reduce the stand density or basal area to achieve approximately 50 trees per acre.  Matwijec goes on to say that “when you have a forest with that number of trees per acre you will have openings within the forest stand”  To date the CUSP crew and Woodland Park City employees have completed over 5 acres.  

Forest Management at Sky High Ranch and Quaker Ridge Camp

Defensible space thinning will occur at this structure in Sky High Ranch

Work is underway at these two camps that border USFS burning locations on Hwy 67 North.

Sky High Ranch has burned 17 large piles leftover from a thinning project in 2004. Thank you North East Teller County FD and the Co. State Forest Service for torching these monsterous piles back in January. We are currenly waiting for some snow to light the remaining piles. CUSP will begin working on approximately 20 acres of d-space and thinning around camp buildings starting this Thrursday and Friday, Feb. 26-27th. This will be an on-going effort for CUSP and other ranch staff at Sky High. The goal is to work at least 1 day a week, cutting and chipping until June 1st when the ranch visitiors begin to arrive. Also, other projects are being prepared for the Colorado Youth Legends and Legacy saw crew this summer.

Quaker Ridge Camp has recently installed a new wood boiler on the property to heat an older assembly building that also houses the main staff offices. Part of our goal in managing the forest there is to create a supply of wood to stock the boiler for the next few years. The first project that has been mapped is a fuelbreak of the ingress and egress road, thinning trees off the road 50′ back on either side. In essence, we will create a shaded fulebreak, leaving only a few of the dominant trees of the overstory. This project will likely be contracted as it will be about 15 acres of thinning; logs will be dragged to a deck and slash will be either chipped or masticated on site. Starting March 4th, CUSP will begin pruning around structures and completing general d-space thinning of ladder fuels too close to important camp buildings. A volunteer day will occur on March 11th, approximately 30 high schoolers from Oklahoma staying at the camp will help drag slash to the CUSP chipper.

Cutting Beetle Trees

CUSP, the State Forest Service, and private landowners south of the City are cutting mountain-pine-beetle infested trees in an effort to improve forest health and reduce beetle spread.

As you’re driving down Hwy 24 toward Colorado Springs look to your right around the historic Wishing Well motel, and you may notice the hillside taking on a more open look. Much of the deadwood—killed by the beetles over the last few season—has already been removed, with lots of it distributed to needy residents by Teller County Help The Needy, a nonprofit that provides a number of services to folks facing hard times and personal challenges. Cutting is just starting on the green trees in which the beetle larvae are overwintering (aka, brood trees). The brood trees are either chipped, or solar treated, to destroy the larvae before they fly. Work will continue in this area over the next few months.

In the News

The Woodland Park Healthy Forest Initiative is in the news! The Pikes Peak Courier View did an article on the thinning at the City of Woodland Park’s Meadow Wood Sports Complex. The City, Colorado State Forest Service, and CUSP are partnering to make this project happen.