Reports and Information

Reports and Research

The Colorado Forest Restoration Institute was authorized by Congress in the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004. To make sure that CFRI focuses on stakeholder needs, the Act requires an annual report that is reviewed by the clients we serve. We welcome any thoughts and suggestions on the 2006 CFRI Draft Annual Report (pdf 72K).Please contact Dan Binkley by phone: 970 491-6519; email: dan@cnr.colostate.edu; or mail:

Dan Binkley
Colorado Forest Restoration Institute
Warner College of Natural Resources
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523

Forest Restoration Guidelines in Ponderosa Pine on the Front Range of Colorado. This paper was compiled from information obtained from the Colorado State Forest Service 2004 Forest Health Report, and the Forest Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University. (pdf 1.56 MB)

What's happening right now?

All the aspen forests in Colorado are changing; most of the forests are developing through periods of gradual change, but in recent years many landscapes have experienced rapid changes including the death of many large, old trees. Why are so many trees dying now? What’s Happening in Colorado’s Aspen Forests? Gradual, long-term changes and recent widespread death of aspen trees, is a collaborative report from the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, the Colorado State Forest Service, and the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region and Rocky Mountain Research Station. (pdf 965 K)

Recent Forest Insect Outbreaks and Fire Risk in Colorado Forests: A Brief Synthesis of Relevant Research (pdf 1 MB), by Bill Romme, Jessica Clement, Jeff Hicke, Dominik Kulakowski, Lee MacDonald, Tania Schoennagel, and Tom Veblen. Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are occurring in many parts of the West, including Colorado. In combination with recent high-intensity forest fires, these insect outbreaks are raising concerns about the health of our forests and our ability to deal with these issues. The visual impact of a high-severity bark beetle outbreak or fire may give the impression that we are in a crisis situation and that we must take dramatic steps to deal with this “emergency”. However, recent scientific research on the ecology of forest disturbances, by scientists in Colorado and elsewhere, leads to a more nuanced interpretation.

How Have Forest Conditions Changed in the Laramie Foothills of Colorado during the past 60 years? (pdf, 682 K) Ecological Models are used to describe the components of plant communities and the processes that shift components from one state to another. The model used in this report describes the vegetation components of Ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests. It is primarily based on data from research conducted by Merrill Kaufmann, Paula Fornwalt and Laurie Huckaby of the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in the upper South Platte watershed.

At the request of The Nature Conservancy and the Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership, Merrill R. Kaufmann, Thomas T. Veblen, and William H. Romme developed summaries of the current state of scientific understanding of historical fire regimes in the forested landscapes of Colorado's Front Range (pdf 2.1 MB).

Information on Historical Ranges of Variability

Historical Range of Variability for Forest Vegetation of the National Forests of the Colorado Front Range,was co-authored by Tom Veblen and Joseph Donnegan from the University of Colorado at Boulder, as part of a project with USDA Forest Service Region 2. (Acrobat file, 3.5 MB). Hard copies can be obtained by contacting either Claudia Regan, Region 2 Ecologist (cregan@fs.fed.us), or Dan Binkley at CFRI (Dan.Binkley@ColoState.edu).

Historical Range of Variability for Forest Vegetation of the Grand Mesa National Forest, Colorado, was co-authored by Dominik Kulakowski and Tom Veblen from the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of a project with USDA Forest Service Region 2. Hard copies can be obtained by contacting either Claudia Regan, Region 2 Ecologist, or Dan Binkley at CFRI. Note: this is a large pdf file - 7.6 MB. Download time depends on the speed of your Internet connection.

Historical and Modern Disturbance Regimes of Piñon-Juniper Vegetation in the Western U.S. (pdf 1MB). Piñon-juniper vegetation covers some 100 million acres in the western U.S., where it provides economic products, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and aesthetic beauty in some of the most scenic landscapes of North America. There are concerns, however, that the ecological dynamics of piñon-juniper woodlands have changed since Euro-American settlement, that trees are growing unnaturally dense, and that woodlands are encroaching into former grasslands and shrublands. Yet surprisingly little research has been conducted on historical conditions and ecological processes in piñon-juniper vegetation, and the research that does exist demonstrates that piñon-juniper structure, composition, and disturbance regimes were very diverse historically as well as today. This report from more than a dozen scientists across the West highlights areas of broad agreement as well as those requiring more site-specific information.

Management Information

A Comprehensive Guide to Fuels Treatment Practices for Ponderosa Pine in the Black Hills, Colorado Front Range, and Southwest (RMRS GTR 198) was produced by Molly Hunter, Wayne Shepperd, Leigh B. Lentile, John D. Lundquist, Michael G. Andreu, Jack L. Butler and Frederick W. Smith.

Ponderosa Pine Photo Series. A photo guide for appraising downed woody masticated fuels in interior ponderosa pine forests on the Colorado Front Range is the first in a four-part series. Note: this is a large pdf file - 4.38 MB. Download time depends on the speed of your Internet connection.

Fuel Modeling and Smoke Management. The Kennedy Gulch prescribed burn demonstrated the wide variety of fuel loading found on masticated areas. (pdf 93 KB)

 

Information and presentations from previous workshops

Presentations from the forest biomass conference, "Can Forests Meet Our Energy Needs? The Future of Forest Biomass in Colorado" from 21 Feb 2008 at CSU in Fort Collins, CO are now online and available to the public.

Please visit the conference website for further instructions:

Click here to go to the conference website.

Results of the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institute sponsored workshop in October 2006:

Frequent fire landscapes lead to the development of old-growth composition, structure, and dynamics than those expected in wetter areas. The Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes sponsored a workshop in October 2006 to explore the unique features of frequent-fire, old-growth forests. The results of the workshop have been published in the on-line journal, Ecology and Society. The papers include perspectives on Human History and Cultural Perspectives , appropriate definitions and unique characteristics of old-growth, and policy and management suggestions.

Presentations given at the Colorado State Forest Service Training Academy on February 6, 2007:

These are large Powerpoint presentations that were converted to Acrobat files. To download them from the Warner College of Natural Resources download directory, select either presentation, right-click the name of the file to download, select "Save . . as" and choose a directory on your hard drive.

Ecology and Management of Fire in Piñon-Juniper Woodlands, Bill Romme. (pdf 14 MB)

Bark Beetle Outbreaks and Fire Risk in Colorado Forests, Tania Schoennagel (pdf 3.9 MB)

Presentations from a CFRI/CSFS short course on forest restoration, Deckers, Colorado, April 2006:

Note: press the left mouse button or the 'next' button on the keyboard to advance to the next slide. These presentations are over 2.5 MB and may take a few minutes to download with slow-speed Internet connections.

 

Monique Fire Model

Concepts of Forest Restoration and Ponderosa Pine Forest HRV

 

Additional Information:

Needs Assessments

Colorado Needs Assessment

2005 Report on the Health of Colorado's Forests

Workplans

CFRI 2006 Workplan

CFRI 2006 Workplan Update

SWERI 2007 Workplan for Colorado Only

Key High Level Dates

Legislation

Southwest Forest Health Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004

Bill Authorizing CFRI

Western Governors' Association

A Collaborative for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment (August 2001)

Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative

Workshop on Forest and Rangeland Health Collaboration