25,000-acre fuel reduction project proposed for Pike National Forest

The U.S. Forest Service, Pike National Forest and Colorado Springs Utilities are seeking public comments regarding a proposed 25,000-acre fuel reduction project that aims to reduce fuel loads in Teller County to make the forest less susceptible to catastrophic wildfire.

A public meeting on the proposal will be held on Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Leon Young Service Center in Colorado Springs. Additionally, a meeting will be held on Nov. 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Ute Pass Cultural Center in Woodland Park.

The Forest Service noted that the compounding effects of large-scale fires, historic logging and aggressive fire suppression efforts over the last 150 years has resulted in unnatural forest conditions prime for catastrophic wildfire in Teller County.

The Catamount Fuels Reduction Project aims to address this situation by identifying priority areas that are suitable for fuels reduction activities to improve forest conditions. The 2008 Catamount Landscape Assessment Report will be used as a guide for the desired forest conditions and prescribed fuel treatments.

The goals of the project are to:

* reduce the risk that a wildfire will negatively affect the municipal watershed reserves for the cities of Colorado Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Cascade, Chipita Park and Manitou Springs;
* reduce fuels in the wildland-urban interface;
* improve forest health, vigor and resistance to fire, insects and disease;
* improve riparian health; and
* reduce the risk of severe flooding and sedimentation for the protection of public safety, water system infrastructure and other natural and developed resources.

Colorado Springs Utilities, through its cooperative agreements with the USFS, is participating as a partnering agency along with the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS). Springs Utilities will be assisting with the funding for the environmental assessment, as well as supporting the development of fuel mitigation alternatives and eventual implementation of
fuels reduction projects on the watershed lands of interest.

Springs Utilities is also contracting professional services to conduct watershed assessments within and around the Catamount project area to identify critical watershed areas subject to high wildfire risks, flooding, and sedimentation specific to utility water supplies and infrastructure. Results from the contracted assessments will be incorporated into the environmental review process as supporting information to assist with the development of fuel mitigation alternatives.

City-owned watershed lands will also be included in the environmental assessment for the purposes of evaluating potential impacts of forest management activities around or near the city-owned lands. At the time the Catamount project moves to implementation, Springs Utilities will coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service and CSFS to accomplish fuels
mitigation activities as planned for both Forest Service and city-owned watershed lands.