May 5, 2018, 10am-2pm
Turkey Springs Trailhead, Piedra Road, Pagosa Springs, CO
Carpooling from trailhead to another site.
In celebration of Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, several Pagosa Springs partners are hosting a public forestry workshop to improve local forest health and protect local communities from wildfire.
As we head into the fire season with extremely dry forest conditions, local land managers, organizations, businesses and community members are looking closely at what we can do to prepare our communities for the possibility of fire. One tool land managers use is thinning trees in dense forests to reduce the possibility of intense and destructive fires. We invite the public to join us for a presentation, tour, and hands-on tree marking with local foresters in one of our gorgeous local forests. Trees marked by volunteers will be part of a future contract to improve forest health.
Please bring a lunch and sturdy shoes. Snacks, forestry equipment and safety equipment will be provided.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Workshop participants will meet leaders at the Turkey Springs Trailhead at 10am before carpooling to a research area near Middle Mountain. The workshop will begin with presentations by Matt Tuten (Forest/Silviculturalist for the San Juan National Forest) and Emily Hohman (Executive Director of the Chama Peak Land Alliance) on local forest health concerns, methods for marking trees, and the importance of tree thinning and prescribed burning. After a lunch break, participants will get a chance to mark trees that will be part of a contract to improve the health and safety of the forest and surrounding communities. Interested participants can also learn techniques for assessing the effectiveness of their marking at the end of the day. This is a great opportunity to get an inside look at what foresters do on a day to day basis to manage our local public forests.
PARTNERS
San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership
San Juan National Forest (USFS)
Mountain Studies Institute
Chama Peak Land Alliance
Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX)
Contact Laurel to RSVP or to ask questions.