Seedling Trees Ideal for Reforestation after Pine Beetles, Fire

[Source: Kimberly Sorensen for Colorado State University]

So far, the mountain pine beetle has impacted approximatly 3 million acres of forest in Colorado and southern Wyoming.

Landowners interested in reforesting mountain properties recently ravaged by insect infestation or wildfire may be eligible for low-cost seedling trees from the Colorado State Forest Service.

The CSFS Nursery offers a wide variety of native seedling trees ideal for restoration in areas impacted by the recent mountain pine beetle infestation, including lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine and aspen. “In addition to replanting the tree species that was attacked, you should plant a variety of native trees to minimize the impact of future pests to your forest,” said Nursery Manager Randy Moench.

The CSFS seedling tree program is designed to encourage Colorado farmers, ranchers and rural landowners to plant native seedling trees for conservation purposes, including reforestation to replace dead or dying trees. About 5,000 Coloradans currently plant seedling trees each year to create windbreaks, enhance wildlife habitat, protect livestock and meet other conservation goals.

Moench says cost effectiveness is a major benefit of planting seedlings. “Planting 50 to 100 mature trees can get very expensive, but the same number of seedlings is quite affordable.”

Other benefits of planting seedling trees include increased property values, energy conservation and reduced utility bills.

To purchase seedling trees from the CSFS, landowners must meet the following criteria:

• Own two or more acres of land
• Use the seedlings for conservation purposes only
• Purchase seedlings in minimums of 30 to 50 (depending on species and size)
• Agree not to use seedlings for landscaping or resale

Seedling orders are now being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, but Moench said it’s a good idea to order as soon as possible. “Landowners who order before mid-March will have the best selection to choose from,” he said.

More information about the CSFS seedling tree program is available at local CSFS district offices and the Colorado State Forest Service Web site at www.csfs.colostate.edu.

The Colorado State Forest Service is an agency of Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources.

Colorado Rancher Says Wolves May Have Arrived; Welcomes Their Return

According to a press release, wild wolves may have already reached a Western Colorado ranchland.

[Source: Wildlands Network and New West]

DeBeque, Colorado—A DNA test of scat samples is all that remains before a western Colorado ranch owner knows for sure if wild wolves are present on his land.

Paul R. Vahldiek, Jr., majority shareholder and CEO of The High Lonesome Ranch, a mixed use landscape sprawling across Colorado’s west slope northeast of Grand Junction, awaits results of the DNA test as the final piece of evidence needed to confirm wolf habitation. One of the ranch managers and an expert wildlife tracker have already reported actual sightings of wolves, and positively identified tracks and howling on the vast acreage.

Committed to conservation of private lands and wildlife, Vahldiek has been working for several years to determine the baseline ecology of the ranch. To further that work, the rancher hired landscape ecologist and large carnivore specialist Cristina Eisenberg to study predator-prey relationships on the land, which was believed to be wolfless. Vahldiek hoped to complete these studies prior to any natural recolonization of wolves. Much to his and Eisenberg’s surprise, it now appears that the storied carnivore has already taken up residence on the property.

Asked about evidence for wolf presence on The High Lonesome Ranch, Eisenberg said, “Wolf sightings, tracks, howling, and other wolf sign gathered over the past eighteen months suggest likely wolf presence, pending DNA analysis results.”

Vahldiek first became interested in the role that wolves play in regulating healthy landscapes when he attended a talk by Eisenberg given at the Boone and Crockett Club’s annual conservation meeting at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch. Her presentation made him realize that The High Lonesome Ranch’s approximately 300-square-miles of deeded private and permitted Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands might be likely habitat for natural wolf recolonization.

“It seemed logical to me, based on what happened in Yellowstone National Park, that keystone species like wolves might have a positive effect on biodiversity and restoring the health of aspen groves on this property,” notes Vahldiek. His interest in the ecological benefits of keystone species led him to attend further meetings on large landscape-scale conservation convened by the international conservation group Wildlands Network, and he recently became a member of that organization’s board of directors.

Wildlands Network’s mission to reconnect and restore wildlands across North America to allow continued movement of wide-ranging species inspired Vahldiek to pursue an even larger, more visionary goal. While he remains committed to conserving his ranch and abiding by the laws and regulations pertaining to any new wolf inhabitants, Vahldiek also is committed to conserving this landscape as a key wildlife linkage within what Wildlands Network calls the “Western Wildway,” a 5,000-mile-long stretch of plateaus, canyons and mountains between Alaska’s Brooks Range and northern Mexico’s Sierra Madre.

Michael Soulé, an internationally known conservation biologist also serving as Wildlands Network’s president, is clear about the value of Vahldiek’s efforts to recognize the ecological importance of wolves. “The return of wolves to Colorado would be proof that safe landscape connections are key to maintaining critical, keystone species in the West,” says Soulé.

Vahldiek, with scientific assistance from a science team lead by Eisenberg, Soulé, and wildlife ecologist Roger Creasey, says he hopes to work closely with his neighbors and with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) to create a sustainable, science-based wolf management plan that will allow recovery for any wolves that choose the ranch as home. Vahldiek and his science team recommend that any wolf management plan enacted by CDOW include realistic financial incentives and technical assistance for the ranching community in order to ensure minimal wolf-livestock conflicts.

Vahldiek says he understands that The High Lonesome Ranch must learn to live with these newfound inhabitants and knows that, while controversial, wolves will likely improve the health of the flora and fauna of this ecosystem.

Wolves that naturally migrate to Colorado from Wyoming would be federally protected as endangered species and could not be relocated, removed, or killed. Wolves have been absent from Colorado since they were completely exterminated by federally-funded bounty hunters by the 1940s.

From the Newsletter (Vol 1, Iss 2): February Featured Stakeholder Randy Fischer

[Source: Sarah Lupis for ILE's The Salt Lick, Vol 1 Issue 2]

This month’s featured stakeholder is Randy Fischer, State Representative from House District 53

Randy Fischer, Chairman of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and representative for House District 53 in Fort Collins, CO.

(Fort Collins, CO). As many readers likely know, Fischer was recently appointed Chairman of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee. What you may not know is that Randy Fischer is a third-generation Coloradoan and two-time graduate of Colorado State University, receiving both a BS in Natural Resources Management and, later, an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is a former bee keeper, developing a successful 1,000-hive business that cooperated with farms in Wyoming, Colorado, and California during different parts of the year, and a former consulting engineer who traveled the world working on a variety of projects. Fischer has been married to his wife, Cathy, a teacher, for 37 years. Fischer is a bird watcher, a carpenter, an athlete, a gardener, and, since high school, a community leader.

“I was interested in politics since high school. I always felt the need to be involved and move forward on issues. I decided to run for the state house in 2005 because I was at a point where it was okay to take a break from my career; I had time to devote to public office,” explains Fischer.

Public office does take time. When the legislature is in session, Fischer heads to Denver on Sunday afternoons so he can begin preparing for the week. On a typical day, committee meetings start at 7:00 a.m., followed by several hours on the House floor hearing bills, followed by more meetings, which can last well past dinner time. Fischer has little help—one part-time aid helps to gather information and manage his office. Although the responsibilities of juggling information, emails, phone calls, and constant communication can be demanding, Fischer contends, “It’s demanding in a good way. This is something I feel blessed to be able to do.”

As Chairman of the House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources committee, Fischer regularly hears bills related to agriculture, water, oil and gas, mining, wildlife, state parks, and oversight of the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources. Currently, the committee is working on issues related to funding for the Division of Water Rights, protecting water rights, protecting agricultural land on the fringes of urban development, supporting the state’s booming organic agriculture business, the future of conservation easement tax credits, and loans for rural water projects.

Fischer has a vision for Colorado that seems to go beyond any one bill or issue. “Colorado is going to see tremendous changes in the not too distant future. There are those who are predicting that we will double our population in the next 20-30 years. I think it will be a challenge for livestock producers to be able to operate and make sure that their industry is viable and sustainable in the face of this increasing population growth. Just the water issue alone is really impacted by population growth,” says Fischer, who seems determined to fight for rural interests, “The goal is to make sure we don’t dry up agricultural land or reach that tipping point where rural communities start to wither and die. One of the goals should be to promote rural economic development and sustainability.”

Fischer’s vision is a close match with the mission of the Institute for Livestock and the Environment (solving problems at the interface of livestock production and science-based environmental management), which is what drew him to become an ILE stakeholder early on. He hopes that ILE can continue to work with the legislature to provide sound scientific information to help legislators find solutions to problems and help spread information into local communities.

“I have an interest in seeing environmental interests and agricultural producers working more closely together to solve problems that will become more pronounced as time goes on. I was so thrilled when I heard about the Institute and what you are trying to do,” says Fischer, who continues, “What we really want is a viable and sustainable agricultural industry. I don’t want a ‘museum industry’. I want working landscapes because that’s really who we are in Colorado and part of what contributes to our quality of life here.”