MORRISON Feb 3, 2010 - The U.S. Forest Service – Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC), South Platte Ranger District has begun fuel reduction treatments this month on 81 acres of land immediately adjacent to the Perry Park community located in Jefferson County. West Range Reclamation, operating under a Long Term Stewardship Contract, is doing the on-the-ground work.

The Perry Park Metro Board approached the South Platte Ranger District to encourage the U.S. Forest Service to reduce fuels on federal lands adjacent to the Perry Park community. Efforts to reduce hazardous fuels on both private and U.S. Forest Service lands accelerated after the Hayman fire in 2002. Starting in 2003, U.S. Forest Service fuel specialists identified 118 acres that could reasonably be treated by a combination of hand and mechanical methods.

The area is a dense mix of Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, interspersed with thickets of oak brush. Before this treatment, extensive torching and crown fire would be the expected wildfire behavior, likely causing the loss of numerous structures in the Perry Park community.

The actual treatment includes a combination of product removal and mastication, a method by which trees are mulched and shredded. In order to reduce potential fire behavior, trees of all different sizes were removed, including some of the larger trees. Sale of these logs helped offset the cost of the project.

Other objectives of the treatment are to maintain diversity within the treated area by retaining larger, older trees, especially ponderosa pines; maintain acceptable levels of snags and down woody debris, retain clumps of oak brush; and to “daylight” some of the scenic rock formations.

This project is more than halfway completed, and it appears all objectives for the project will be met.

In the end, persistence and dedication from both the Perry Park community and the U.S. Forest Service working collaboratively toward a common goal has paid off.

Group In Perry Park Treatment Area

Members of the Perry Park Metro Board and Firewise Committee Gathered to Watch Beginning of Project