USFS Partnership confirmed to continue critical land stewardship work

By: Chris Metz, Land Stewardship Tech II

Land Stewardship Program spraying to combat weed infestations in the Cameron Peak Fire burn area this summer.

Landscape scale weed mitigation is a top priority of the Land Stewardship Program.

As of the beginning of July, the United States Forest Service (USFS) and Larimer County Natural Resources Land Stewardship Program have entered into an agreement to provide vegetation management services for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest through May of 2028!

This agreement will provide funding for the Land Stewardship Program to continue to manage noxious weeds on USFS managed land within Larimer County.  This partnership has been in place for over a decade now and has been crucial in helping the areas affected by both the Cameron Peak Fire of 2020 as well as the High Park Fire of 2012.

Moving forward for the next few years, I will be leading a crew of myself and three seasonal staff to manage noxious weeds within the Canyon Lakes Ranger District.  While we will manage high priority weed infestations as well as heavily used recreational areas, our primary focus will be to manage the vegetation within the Cameron Peak burn scar.  Areas impacted by the fire are experiencing heavy pressure from noxious weeds as the vegetation slowly begins to reclaim the landscape.

Over the next five years, the Land Stewardship Program will work to manage the noxious vegetation to help promote the re-establishment of native vegetation within the burn scar.  Our plans are to manage from the roadsides and streams out to help limit the spread through those vectors.

Over 200,000 acres were affected by the fire so we will have no shortage of work to do. This is another great example of how our Department is using its resources to partner with other agencies to help improve our local environment.

Staff working to combat weeds in the burn area.

All photos provided by Chris Metz.