Colorado State Forest Service 
Gunnison District

Forest Management and Stewardship
The forest management function of the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) is intended to provide sound forestry recommendations and implementation assistance to private landowners, communities, and cooperating agencies, in order to improve forest amenities such as tree health, wildlife habitat, soil and water conservation, forest products, and recreational opportunities. We accomplish this mission by providing a variety of forest management services, and through our seedling tree program.  

Forest Management Assistance through CSFS

Forest Management and Timber Harvest Plans

Good management begins with a sound management plan designed to meet the landowner's needs. A management plan will identify the landowner's objectives for the property, describe the resources present, and recommend specific practices needed to attain these objectives. The plan will involve an in-depth inventory of the timber, as well as the other resources on the property like range or wildlife. When writing a management plan, we will often call on other resource professionals from agencies like the Natural Resources Conservation Service or the Colorado Division of Wildlife for their expertise, in order to make the plan as interdisciplinary as possible. CSFS is a sponsor of the Forest Stewardship Program, a national effort at forest planning and recognition for forest landowners. CSFS is also the primary review agency for county planning departments that require logging plans as part of a land use application.  

Timber Cruising / Mapping

Timber cruising is the process of determining the amount (in cubic feet, board feet, or weight) of timber on a given unit (usually acres) of land. Accepted statistical sampling procedures must be used and the accuracy of the "cruise" must be calculated in order to be valid. A qualified professional forester with no financial interest in the sale of your timber should conduct your timber cruise. Sometimes, a landowner may be interested in simply cruising or mapping a particular property or timber stand to determine possible sale potential or value. The Grand Junction District of the CSFS has developed a spread sheet and stand-alone DOS executable programs for volume determination of all commercial timber species in Colorado. In addition, we incorporate the latest GPS, CADD and GIS capabilities into our mapping of your forested property.

Insect and Disease Surveys

CSFS is available to assess your timber for insect and disease occurrence, and to make recommendations for control where needed. This service is provided as part of any management plan, and is also available to individual lot owners or homeowner associations who are often concerned with specific pests like Ips engraver beetle, mountain pine beetle or spruce budworm. We have a diagnostic lab available through Colorado State University for sending samples for further study. Additional information is available for many forest pests and available for download; some publications are in PDF format which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software, available free from Adobe.
 

Timber Sale Preparation / Administration

A wise seller will know the amount and value of any commodity for sale; This is especially true when selling timber. We offer commercial timber sale layout, marking, cruising (volume determination), and traversing for acreage calculation. We can also prepare timber sale contracts, and have an extensive bidder's list to assist in offering a sale, whether it's a few cords of firewood or several million board feet of sawlogs.

Forest Agricultural Property Tax

In 1990, the Colorado legislature enacted House Bill 1229, which allows certain forested properties to qualify for agricultural property tax status. A landowner who owns at least 40 acres of forested land, and is willing to manage the property to produce wood products, is now eligible to receive agricultural tax status without necessarily grazing or farming the land (CRS 39-1-102). CSFS is responsible for annually reviewing these properties and making recommendations to county tax assessors regarding "Forest Ag" eligibility.

Cost-share Assistance Programs

Several cost-share programs are available through CSFS to private landowners. The Stewardship Incentives Program (SIP) provides federally-funded assistance for up to 65% of the cost of implementing a variety of practices like windbreak planting, reforestation, management plan development, soil and wetlands protection, and wildlife habitat improvement. The Forestry Incentives Program (FIP) is another federal cost-share program designed to help increase productivity of commercial forest lands through thinning and planting assistance. Further information is available from a CSFS District Forester office or from the nearest county office of the USDA Farm Service Agency.

Consultant and Forest Industries Referrals

CSFS maintains a current list of consulting foresters in the state who are also available to assist landowners with their forest management needs. In addition, we maintain a Forest Products Directory that lists many of the primary and secondary processors, fuelwood suppliers, and logging contractors available to private landowners.

CSFS emphasizes on-the-ground implementation of sound forest management principles. Most of the above services provided through our office require a user fee, which is covered through a standard CSFS service agreement that outlines what we will do for you at what cost.

The CSFS Seedling Tree Program

Availability of Nursery-grown Seedling Trees

Our seedling tree nursery, located in Ft. Collins, grows over 2 million seedlings each year. These trees are available at nominal cost to rural landowners with at least two acres of land. The aim of our seedling tree program is to encourage landowners to plant effective windbarriers to protect buildings, cropland, and feedlots, and to aid erosion control, wildlife habitat, reforestation, and Christmas tree plantations. Participating landowners must agree not to use the trees for ornamental or landscaping purposes, and not to resell the trees as living plants. Contact your local nursery for ornamental needs.

The Gunnison District can also provide custom grown seedlings to local landowners. Our green house in Gunnison produces aspen, narrowleaf cottonwood and native willows from local seed sources. Branch cuttings of Narrowleaf Cottonwood and native willow from your property can be grown in our greenhouse. These local seed sources have proven very hardy when planted in the Gunnison Basin.

Seedling tree order forms are available through our office or through seedling tree cooperators, usually your local Colorado State University Cooperative Extension or Soil Conservation District. Over 50 species of trees and shrubs are available in bundles of 50 (bare root) or lots of 30 (potted). A variety of deciduous and coniferous species are available starting in late October; the best selection is assured by ordering before mid-January. Trees are delivered to a central distribution point in the spring; you will be notified of the exact pickup date and location after your order is placed.

Seedling Tree Care Program

The goal of our tree care program is to provide you with tips to help your trees survive. We offer a single source catalog for seedling survival supplies at reasonable prices because we buy in bulk and pass along the savings. Materials available through our office include drip irrigation kits, polymer soil additive/root dip, tree guards, tree shades, animal repellent, and weed barrier fabric. Throughout the winter, we offer seedling tree care workshops to demonstrate the use of these various products and show you how to plan, plant, and care for your trees to get increased survival and growth. For those who wish to install a drip irrigation system, installation instructions are available.  

Tree Planting Assistance

CSFS is available for on-site tree planting assistance, from the design and planning of large-scale plantings to the actual installation of windbreaks, wildlife habitat, or reforestation projects. We have several tree planting implements available for rent, including tree planting plows, along with a special fabric implement that lays down weed barrier fabric and covers the edges in one operation.

Tree Farm Program

CSFS is a co-sponsor of the American Tree Farm System, a nation-wide program encouraging private forest owners to do an effective job of growing trees as a crop, through recognition and information sharing. Certified Tree Farmers receive a Tree Farm certificate and sign. They also receive regular mailings of The American Tree Farmer magazine from the American Forest Foundation, as well as tree farm newsletters from their own state tree farm committee.

Brian's favorite Forest Management links:
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Colorado Division of Wildlife
Forest Pest information sheets
Natural Resource information sheets
Gardening/Tree/Shrub information sheets
CSFS Nursery home page
Seedling Tree Order Form
Seedling Availability: current tree inventory
Names and addresses of Cooperators for CSFS Conservation Seedlings Trees
Seedling Planting Tips and Guidelines
Drip Irrigation Instructions
American Forest Foundation
Tree Farm System - Colorado Tree Farm Committee

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CSFS Headquarters - Forest Management
CSFS Headquarters
Gunnison District Home

Gunnison District Contact Information
This page maintained by Brian Ayers
Colorado State Forest Service, P.O. Box 1390, Gunnison, CO 81230 USA (970) 641-6852
Updated October 08, 1999