Boulder Watershed Collective Proposal

Community Collaboration on Forest Health

Project Lead:

Maya MacHamer, Watershed Coordinator

Executive Summary:
The small community of Gold Hill, west of the City of Boulder, is at risk of wildfire. The recent Lefthand and Calwood wildfires and the Fourmile Fire in 2010 all threatened the town. The community is very aware of their risk and are taking steps to proactively mitigate this risk through forest restoration (strategic thinning). To this end, in June 2021 the community will begin a process of thinning 180 acres of forest with the goal of decreasing wildfire risk and increasing forest health. This project seeks to engage students to develop protocols and evaluation guidelines for this community monitoring program, and to assist community members in gathering social and natural resource data to evaluate outcomes of the project. Partners view the project as an opportunity to assess social/community priorities and values as well as forest health indicators related to carbon sequestration, forest structure, tree and plant species diversity and composition and wildlife habitat. Students will have the opportunity to work in the field, learning about forest ecology and management principles as well as networking with a diverse group of agencies and community members.

Key words:
Forest restoration, forest ecology/conservation/management, community engagement

Links:
View full proposal
Watch partner video
Access networking event Zoom link