Natural Resources - Gilpin County

Noxious Weeds ID and control for Gilpin County

Fire

Gilpin County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) FINAL - on Gilpin County website

Wildland/Urban Home ignition research

"Wildfire!Preventing home ignition"Excellent, thought-provoking video - what you can do to keep your home from catching on fire, even in the case of a crown fire

Preventing disaster: Home Ignitability in the Wildland-Urban Interface - another video on what you can do to reduce the risk of your house burning down

Firewise resources for homeowners

Gilpin County Evacuation preparedness guide

Sample communication plan - know how to communicate with family and friends in a fire

Make sure our volunteer fire departments can locate your house in an emergency! Reflective green address labels are available through the Coal Creek Fire Department! (you don't have to live in their district to order).

Fire mitigation info and more from the Colorado State Forest Service

Think about using the roads in the County as fuel breaks. Thin to create a shaded fuels break (you own the trees alongside County roads in many cases, not the County!)

NEW! You can subtract up to $2500 from your state tax bill for performing wildfire mitigation on your property. Use the Wildfire mitigation subtraction sheet for more information.

New! Fire behavior in lodgepole pine - with and without pine beetle

Fire outlook for the Norther Rocky Mountains

More fire outlooks: http://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/predictive/outlooks.html

Mountain Pine Beetle

NEW! A landowner's guide to living with bark beetles

New! Short movie on pine beetle

New! Bark Beetles and ecosystems

New! A year in the life of a mountain pine beetle - an illustrated booklet (great for kids!)

Position paper on the use of verbenone

Searchable grants database for project funding for landowners, groups, etc from Rocky Mountain Wildland Fire

Funding opportunities from the CSFS

Up-to-date info on pine beetle on the Front Range! www.frontrangepinebeetle.org

Mountain Pine Beetle fact sheet

Research on how to protect your trees from pine beetle - what works, what doesn't

When will the beetles fly? In lodgepole pine, beetles can emerge as early as early July, peaking in late July to early August, and ending by early Sept. Reports of "beetles flying early" are usually misidentification of other beetles, such as red turpentine beetles, or ips beetles.

Updated information on preventatively spraying your trees against pine beetle

What to do with your infested trees

You can bring infested logs to Road and Bridge to be chipped (Log specifications). 4' length minimum, you MUST call Road and Bridge (303-582-5004) in advance.

Solar treating pine-beetle attacked trees to prevent infestation of new trees (START no later than May 1!)

The Status of Our Scientific Understanding of Lodgepole Pine and Mountain Pine Beetles – A Focus on Forest Ecology and Fire Behavior

Bark Beetles

Rocky Mtn Region USFS info on pine beetle

The upside to pine beetle: aspen populations are less than half what they used to be, and the pine beetle will help them. Click here to see a movie about the aspen decline

Our Future Forests

Ips beetles

Ips beetles

New! Ips beetle update

NEW! USFS info on ips beetles

Other forest issues

New! Lodgepole pine management guidelines in the WUI

Seedling trees We cooperate with the State Forest service to offer low cost seedling trees for reforestation and windbreaks. These are available for purchase between Nov and early April. Here is information on seedling tree planting and buyer's guide with descriptions of the plants and their growing needs.

Identification key for Evergreen trees in Gilpin County

Chainsaw safety

Landowner's guide to thinning

Dwarf mistletoe

My aspen trees are turning orange! Should I worry?

My aspen tree leaves have little bumps on them. Should I worry?

Colorado State Forest Service

Water

New information on rainwater collecting bill from the Co. Division of Water Resources

Mountain water is a tricky subject to understand. The Jeffferson County Planning Department has produced some excellent information about mountain water - where it comes from, what the issues are. Click to read Water Smarts: A Homeowner's guide to Mountain Ground Water.

Most mountain wells tap into water-filled fractures in the bedrock. Click to view a picture of the water cycle in a fractured rock environment, also from the Jefferson County Planning Department.

Information regarding private wells for home use.

Drinking water and health.

Wells used for drinking water should be tested for the presence of coliform bacteria every one to two years. Click here to read more information about bacteria in water wells. You can get your well tested for bacteria at the Gilpin Public and Enviromental Health Dept

Unlike public water supplies, which are regularly monitered, the responsibility for assuring a safe supply of private well water rests solely with the homeowner. Regular testing of your well is necessary to determine whether your water is safe to drink. You can get it tested at the CSU Soil, Water and Plant Testing lab. You can choose to the routine test and/or also test for heavy metals (a good idea if you live near mine tailings). The Colorado State Department of Public health also has a water testing lab, and they can also do bacteria and radon tests in addition to the tests available at CSU.

NEW! The Gilpin County Public and Environmental Health Services Department can test for bacteria in-house. Call 303-582-5803 for more information.

Click for more information on Drought.

NEW! Information on the new rainwater collection bill.

Interested in weather? Join Co-co-rahs - the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a grassroots volunteer network of backyard weather observers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation (rain, hail and snow) in their local communities, to provide the highest quality data for natural resource, education and research applications. Call the office for more details.

Plants

Mountain gardening website - created by Mountain Master Gardeners

Native plant master program

Native plants of Colorado - brought to you by The Native Plant Master Program

Wildlife

Coexisting with wildlife - from the Dept. of Wildlife

Wildlife Conflicts

Living with bears

Living with coyotes

Living with mountain lions

Wild bird feeding tips

Wildlife in your garden

Where to watch wildlife in Colorado

Wildlife as a farm and ranch business

Hunting

Field care of big game

Cutting up a big game carcass

Information on regulations, testing for CWD, hunter safety classes, and more from the Colorado Division of Wildlife

Small acreage Management

CSU's small acreage management website

Resource-rich site to help you plan your land use

Considering a conservation easement? Here are some insights from landowners

Recreation on private land

How many horses are too many for your land? Visit the Adams County website on grazing management- assume the lowest end of forage production in the mountains.

Landowning Colorado Style

Boulder Extension's pasture management page

Guide to poisonous plants to livestock