A HISTORY OF THE WINIGER RIDGE PROJECT
A focus on wildfire mitigation began in 1989, when the Black Tiger Fire destroyed 44 homes and burned 2,100 acres in the Sugarloaf area leading to the formation of the Boulder County Wildfire Mitigation Group. In 1996, a subgroup of the mitigation group, the Boulder County Ecosystem Cooperative, identified several other issues relevant to forest ecosystem health, rather than focusing entirely on wildfire reduction.

Those critical issues included:

  • Forest insect and disease cycles
  • Wildlife habitat
  • Watershed and water quality
  • Land Use

THE BLACK TIGER FIRE, 1989

black tiger fire photo
Photo by David P. Gilkey, Daily Camera

By 1996, the subgroup proposed a pilot project to incorporate hazard reduction with ecosystem improvement efforts. The Winiger Ridge landscape was selected for the pilot project program for numerous reasons, including:

  • The forested, mountainous landscape in which people have built homes -- a wildland/urban interface.
  • Location within elevations known for complex histories of insect, disease and fire events.
  • Increasing pressure on the area from recreationalists and residential development.
  • Forest conditions representative of areas of concern throughout Colorado's Front Range.
  • A wide variety of land ownership, both public and private.
INTERACTIVE TIMELINES
The Winiger Ridge Ecosystem Management & Restoration Project is a federally-funded Pilot Reinvention Project

Throughout, the Winiger Ridge project remains focused on reducing wildfire danger through a variety of forestry applications, including thinning and prescribed burns, while maintaining a holistic and ecosystem-based approach to the overall forest health of the area -- Stewardship Across Boundaries.