In Colorado's forests, fire is a crucial disturbance mechanism for maintaining ecosystem health. Prior to western civilization's poor forest management and fire suppression, Colorado experienced frequent and regular fire events. Thought many people consider wildfire to be negative, ironically it's the absence of these events that has led to many of the forest health issues we see today.

Our restoration treatments mimic the presence of fire by restoring our forests to a structure and composition more representative of how they were structured prior to wester influence. Restored forests have a higher degree of resilience to wildfire, pests, and diseases.

When creating a Forest Conservation Plan, we consider all of these ecosystem services to ensure we're providing a holistic and ecology-based end product.

Before and after treatment results from an LCD project in Upper Cherokee Park, Larimer County. By removing trees in strategic locations, the ecosystem structure and composition is restored to a state that better supports wildlife and promotes forest health and wildfire risk reduction.