FHWMC Articles

It was a beautiful day in mid-September this year for visiting the Bosque del Oso (Forest of the Bear) State Wildlife Area on a tour arranged by the Forest Health and Wildfire Management Committee (FHWMC) to see restorative land management in progress.

The West is in the early stages of self-education in the ways of wildfire, wildfire mitigation and forest health, each one linked to the other. The FHWMC has adopted education as one critical ingredient in the mix to encourage residents to develop a healthy and consequently safe forest on the Santa Fe Trail Ranch. Education is enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to action. As we learn about living in this environment the more successful we will be in surviving here.

The Spanish Peaks on a winter day viewed from a mechanically cleared meadow on the Bosque del Oso.

Bob Holder, District Wildlife Manager

District Wildlife Manger, Bob Holder, a passionate believer in education - and patient as well - led our little band of enthusiastic visitors along canyon bottoms and onto ridge tops where the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Spanish Peaks loomed close enough to see the hint of fall gold. It was a pleasure to see this property from the comfort of our vehicles knowing that it is normally closed to vehicular traffic (except for XTO Energy traffic which is strictly limited). But we weren’t here just to enjoy the views; that was a bonus. The big lesson we would learn this day is that proper land management leads to healthy and abundant wildlife as well as discouraging devastating wildfire. The Bosque del Oso is being “treated” to promote healthy wildlife habitat, but a healthy forest and abundant wildlife are inseparable. After decades of fire suppression a return to healthy forests depends on us. When we mitigate our properties for wildfire we gain the approval of wildlife as well. The more our properties take on the historic characteristic of many fewer trees per acre the safer we will be from fire danger while numbers of animals and birds will increase for our viewing pleasure.

On this pleasant fall morning we met Bob and Jeremy Gallegos, also a District Wildlife Manager, at the DOW sign just east of Weston. Before traveling the few miles to the Bosque Bob offered a few introductory words, which were frequently interrupted by the noisy steady flow of trucks and equipment entering the property from XTO Energy headquartered in Weston. All were contractors and sub-contractors doing work for this aggressive gas company, current owner of the mineral rights, developing coal bed methane gas. Ownership of the mineral rights has changed several times in the past few years.

Jeremy Gallegos, District Wildlife Officer

Bob has been a game officer with the Colorado DOW in Las Animas County for over 30 years and is protective of both the land and its abundant wildlife. He is justly proud of the acquisition by the Colorado DOW of the 30,000-plus acres that became the Bosque del Oso. Many years ago he recognized the ever growing threat by commercial development gobbling up thousands of acres each year in Colorado, denying wildlife its space. Beautiful, sparsely populated Las Animas was a prime target. He began pushing the idea of obtaining a sizeable property somewhere in the county to remain development-free for the enjoyment of future generations. Several plans over the years failed, but Bob never gave up the idea. Finally, after years of negotiation between the DOW, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and the Montana Power Company the dream was realized. The property was purchased and turned over to the DOW. The RMEF considers the Bosque its Crown Jewel of properties and continues to support the work there both financially and by active participation. You can find an excellent article about the entire history of the Bosque acquisition and all the players in the March 1999 issue of The Bugle, the RMEF magazine. (I will send you a copy if you’d like. jwolff@starband.net)

Bob explained how this particular State Wildlife Area is managed differently from others. In 1998 when the property was acquired the DOW created a Management Advisory Committee (MAC) consisting of thirteen member organizations, each with an inherent interest in the management of the property. They are: the CDOW, the RMEF, Izaak Walton League, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, Colorado State Forest Service, Landowners, Las Animas County, Las Animas County Farm Bureau, National Resources Conservation Service, Sangre de Cristo Habitat Partnership Program, Spanish Peaks/Purgatoire River Conservation District, Sportsmen-at-Large, and XTO Energy (or the current mineral rights owner). The formation of this consortium was unique in DOW history but has become a model for similar efforts both in and out of Colorado.

The MAC process has set a standard of cooperation between groups which may not always see eye-to-eye, but has been working, not without problems, but successfully, for the past seven years. Although the DOW and the Wildlife Commission have the final word, they are, for the most part, guided by input and advice from the MAC. The roles of the three groups have been thoughtfully defined. This milestone effort works thanks to the standard of excellence held by the thirteen dedicated volunteer members of the Committee. While the DOW has only one vote by its representative, Bob Holder, it is represented at every meeting by a contingent of DOW staff, each with an expertise to contribute, habitat, fisheries and biology.

We (Walt and Joyce Wolff) are DOW volunteers who act as secretary to the MAC. Over six years ago as DOW volunteers we bugged Bob for jobs but he was always able to handle his work without assistance. But when is came time for him to take and write minutes for MAC meetings he decided to put his volunteers to work. We found ourselves with an unusual and interesting job. Our relationship with the DOW is richly rewarding. Each meeting, which is open to the public, is an education.

MAC members and DOW staff meet with then State Representative Gigi Dennis.

Heavy equipment blocks the road

Stopping to see points of interest

But back to our tour. Our first stop on the property was to have been the 600 acres that were mechanically cleared this spring and summer. We soon discovered that the road up Cherry Canyon was blocked by heavy equipment breaking up rock in order to put in a pipe line. The visible impact on a wildlife area was shocking.

Alternatively we headed for Alamosito Canyon in order to view the cleared work from another vantage point. Traveling along the bottom of the valley we saw several wire enclosures protecting aspen, chokecherries and a variety of plants, waiting to mature enough to withstand browsing. Then they will be transplanted throughout the property. Some of these plantings were seriously damaged, even leveled, by the spring floods two years ago.

We stopped at sites along the way in various states of clearing as well as areas that are seriously overgrown, the result of fire suppression: slopes of dense pinon/juniper (p/j) and Ponderosa pine - ripe for catastrophic fire. The Spring was a perfect example of such a fire. Every growing thing was destroyed and the soil crystallized. It will take years for the forest and the soil to reestablish themselves.


Surface water discharge pond.	Hangin’ out at the ol’ water hole.

Next stop – two newly developed surface water discharge sites. XTO is working diligently to purify its discharge water to meet state specifications so it can be released safely onto the surface.

This water is beneficial to wildlife in a dry country where water is scarce. It will also alleviate the need for XTO to haul out thousands of gallons of water not suitable for surface discharge. Bob pointed out an elk wallow in a narrow canyon where water has been standing. 12 Elk have trampled the grass as they enjoy cooling off in a small wallow.

The MAC hopes that next year cattle will graze the property and the water will be available for them as well. So far the MAC has been unable to write a grazing lease acceptable to interested cattle owners. There has not been an applicant willing to comply with the strict criteria of the lease. The MAC recognizes the value of grazing only if the cattle are moved regularly to avoid over grazing or destruction of critical areas. Most ranchers are not willing or able to spend the time tending cattle that the MAC requires. Bob discussed the advantages of managed grazing as a fire mitigation tool.

Contractually XTO must adhere to a Mitigation and Development Plan that took the DOW years to write in a form acceptable to both the gas company and the DOW. Mitigation includes, as well as the water issues already mentioned, reseeding pipelines, abandoned drill pad areas, and other disturbed sites. Seed mixtures recommended by DOW habitat biologists have been sprayed on steep slopes and pipelines to prevent erosion. Future mixtures will include seeds from shrubs and forbs to provide not only food for wildlife but shelter as well.


Seed has been power sprayed onto the slope surface to prevent serious erosion.	Pipelines must be reseeded.

Traveling on we arrived at the top of a high ridge overlooking the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristos, providing a view of a portion of the 600 acres of land treated this spring by Hydro-ax. Hydro-ax completely consumes the trees. Debris left by these machines can be left rough cut or mulched depending on the goal. Wildlife prefer rougher debris that provides hiding places, shelter, and breeding sites for smaller animals. The land is not clear-cut. Abundant cover and travel paths for large animals like bears and lions still exist in canyon bottoms and slopes too steep to mechanically clear. 15 Across the canyon we saw acres treated by Hydro-ax. Contracting a number of these powerful machines is expensive but effective in clearing large tracts of land. The cleared acreage with a prescribed number of trees per acre remaining is now ideal elk habitat. Bob explained the migration, breeding and calving habits of elk in these mountains and their need for this particular environment. A catastrophic fire would be impossible here now since the fuel load required to carry such a fire has been removed. The view from here looked much like those in historic photos of pre-fire suppression years: of forests kept healthy by a natural fire regime. Without the use of fire the clearing will need to be re-treated in an ongoing cycle.

The next stop was a clearing where trees have been cut mechanically, de-limbed, and stacked for future pick-up by Western Wood Products in Raton, commonly called “post and pole.” The post and pole operation is valuable in that it uses only smaller diameter trees, the target trees for restorative clearing. At present there is an overabundance of these trees with few outlets and purposes for them. The debris left from this operation is not mulched and is extensive. Leftover limbs in piles ten to fifteen feet high will probably be spread out and burned.

In the meantime the huge heaps keep small animals quite happy. Bob said that predator tracks can be found around the bases of these piles where little critters setting up housekeeping travel in and out.


Stacked poles for post and pole and resulting debris.		Across the canyon we saw acres treated by Hydro-ax

Prescribed fire is also an effective tool for clearing the forest of unwanted undergrowth and “dog hair” as spindly underdeveloped and overcrowded tree stands are called. This spring C.K. Morey, our District Forester, asked Diana Novacek, Dave Skogberg and Joyce Wolff to act as safety observers for the only prescribed fire on the property this year. We got a first hand education on how a prescribed burn is conducted. The procedure began with a briefing at the Stonewall Fire House, followed by a second briefing at the fire site. The fire crew from Fort Collins made an impressive showing of preparedness and careful considerations of all possibilities and options. Since prescribed burns have gone out of control in past years it was interesting to see how difficult it can be to get the fire to burn well. With this particular fire the fuel was barely dry enough to ignite while the winds were so gentle that the flame would not carry. Two days of burning did not accomplish the desired goal. Fire can be an important tool in fire mitigation but State and Federal safety precautions, regulations, and high costs make it more and more difficult to conduct prescribed burns.

As we dropped down from the ridge top heading for our lunch stop beside the river, we could see to the south the acres and acres of burn resulting from the Spring Fire, always a sobering sight.

Serious flooding on the Purgatorie River two and three years ago was the result of heavy spring rains, melting snow and loss of watershed, the burned area we just saw, from the denuded slopes of the Spring Fire. The flood water washed away most of the costly stream restoration that fishery biologists had accomplished only a few years earlier. The river was, for a while, so silted that fish were floating – unable to swim or breathe. This spring the project for the RMEF annual Volunteer Day on the Bosque was to cut and plant several thousand willow shoots along the river edges and banks. 22 Volunteers plant willow shoots. The day before the planting Bob and Jeremy took students from several local schools to cut the shoots from established willow beds to be planted the next day by volunteers and DOW Staff who arrived from many areas of the state. We learned that many of the shoots rooted successfully and will help keep the stream within its banks and deter erosion. This was another example of using the Bosque del Oso experience as an educational tool.

Although the tour group was disappointingly small we got a good feel for the wildlife area and what the DOW is trying to accomplish. 23 Rapt attention to Bob Holder. The goal to restore the land to a healthier state was the clear idea we came away with. We heartily thanked the DOW Officers for taking their time to educate us. Now the task of treating our own properties lies ahead. The Forest Health and Wildfire Mitigation Committee is your support group for getting this job done.

A word about the Culebra Range Community Coalition

(CRCC) formed a few years ago. This Coalition of interested individuals, property owners like the BAR N I Ranch and organizations including The Nature Conservancy have become an active and enthusiastic spokes group for healthy forests. They have taken on the daunting task of finding economic opportunities for using this vast amount of small diameter timber resulting from forest restoration. It is a huge problem. Several representatives from the CRCC spoke to our POA last year explaining their purpose, philosophy and goals, while encouraging us in our effort on the SFTR. The group encourages our support of their work to develop healthy forests. Their meetings, usually at the BAR N I or the Stonewall Firehouse are open to anyone interested. The FHWMC is maintaining a relationship with the CRCC but both need greater participation to make it a successful partnership. I will gladly send information about the organization (jwolff@starband.net).

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