Garden Park Pinyon - Juniper Project
In 2011, the Fremont Conservation District partnered with six agencies and 37 landowners to treat over 950 acres of dead, dying, and diseased pinyon and juniper trees in the Garden Park area north of Canon City. This project.......
Ips Beetles attacked overgrown and weak stands of Pinyon leaving the area with standing dead trees and increased fire risk.
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- Reduced fire hazard for surrounding subdivisions
- Gave native plant species a chance to re-establish - Improved the aesthetic view of the area - And opened up meadows for wildlife habitat! |
Aerial photos taken by Colorado Parks and Wildlife show a drastic change in landscape on treated acres compared to outlying areas.
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Our District Conservation Technician, Dave Hallock, has continued to monitor these sites for the last three years since the project was completed.
Dave has noted that the native grasses and forbs have made a good comeback and the epidemic of the Ips Beetle appears to have subsided drastically. Landowners commented that they have seen an increase in wildlife sightings and that they were impressed with how much land has been made accessible by the project. 
Dave Hallock (retired) and Nick Trainor (previously NRCS) marking monitoring points for data collecting uses.
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Hydro axes were used for majority of the treatment. These giant machines mulch trees from the top down and can throw out debris up to 300 feet.
Chainsaw crews working on the steep terrain that the hydro ax machines could not reach.
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View a map of the project area...
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View a fire hazard map of the project area...
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