WOLF Sanctuary Wildfire Mitigation Project
Project Description:
The WOLF Sanctuary Wildfire Mitigation Project will use hand thinning, slash piling, pile burning, and chipping to reduce forest density and mitigate wildfire risk on 38 acres of private land located between the communities of Red Feather Lakes and Glacier View Meadows, in Larimer County, Colorado.
After more than 25 years at their current location in Rist Canyon, the WOLF Sanctuary is moving to a more sustainable location near the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch, and north of Larimer County Road 74E. This location, while ideal for the new facilities of the WOLF Sanctuary, is significantly departed from historical forest density levels, due to a century of fire suppression, early logging practices, cattle grazing, and other factors, which have contributed to far too many especially smaller diameter trees on the landscape. This increase in forest density leads to greater wildfire risk, potentially causing more intense wildfire behavior should a fire occur in the area, which could lead to significant forest canopy mortality, soil erosion and water quality impacts in nearby Elkhorn Creek, and threats to property infrastructure, animals on site, and nearby communities.
Because of this situation, the leadership of the WOLF Sanctuary desires to undertake a wildfire mitigation project that will reduce forest density, focusing on the smaller diameter “ladder fuels” that can carry a ground fire into the forest canopy, in order to moderate potential wildfire behavior and reduce possible negative impacts to the forest, the property itself and its associated infrastructure, the nearby community of Glacier View Meadows, and water supplies in the Cache la Poudre River watershed.
Project Goals:
- Reduce wildfire risk and potential negative impacts
- Protect water quality
- Improve wildlife habitat
- Increase local forest and fire management capacity and training
- Promote landscape-scale, cross-jurisdictional forest treatments and collaborative planning
Project Timeline:
