Peak to Peak Wood launched

 For more information, contact:

Craig Jones, Peak to Peak Wood project manager, 303-443-2088, craigjo@lamar.colostate.edu

Joe Duda, Forest Management Division supervisor, Colorado State Forest Service, 970-222-8690, jduda@lamar.colostate.edu

Deb Frazier, communications manager, Colorado State Parks, 303-866-3203 ex 4342, deb.frazier@state.co.us

Two Colorado state agencies and five Front Range counties have combined their efforts to launch Peak to Peak Wood, a unique program promoting treatment of wildfire-threatened forests through development of private markets in wood fuels and products.

 “We're thrilled to be an integral part of a program with such positive implications for the health of our northeastern Colorado forests, and we’re thankful for the U.S. Forest Service grant that got this started,” said Gary Buffington, director of Larimer County Parks and Open Lands. “Our commissioners have dedicated significant resources and effort to this endeavor, and we hope that forest landowners make good use of these facilities.”

So far, three sort yards have been created where wood from forest health projects can be dropped off: The Stove Prairie site in Larimer County, the Gilpin County site near Black Hawk and the Meeker Park site, near Allenspark, created through a combined effort by Boulder and Larimer counties. The yards not only provide more convenient locations to safely dispose of wood, they also provide a place where the wood can be sorted for distribution into private markets.

Peak to Peak Wood is partially funded by a $100,000 Working Partnerships Grant from the U.S. Forest Service, and is administered by the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation (State Parks) and the Colorado State Forest Service, an agency of Colorado State University. Employees and resources from the five counties in the program, which also includes Clear Creek and Jefferson counties, were largely responsible for creating the most unique part of the program — the public wood collection sites and sort yards.

The counties paid most of the cost of creating, staffing and providing equipment for the sort yards, so most of the federal funds will be used to underwrite the transportation of the wood.

“Providing a steady supply of wood will help expand local markets thereby reducing the cost of fuels-reduction projects on the Front Range,” said Joe Duda, Forest Management Division supervisor, Colorado State Forest Service. “We didn’t envision this effort as a mountain pine beetle program, but we believe the sites will become increasingly more important as the epidemic reaches into the Front Range.”

Roundwood — delimbed tree trunks — collected at the sites or on public forest lands will be available for purchase through the sort yards. Additional information about locations and hours for the collection sites, and how to purchase materials through the sort yards is available on the program's Web site at www.peaktopeakwood.org.

“Only sites where provisions have been made to immediately treat pine beetle-infested wood, such as the Gilpin County and Meeker Park sites, will accept 'hot wood' prior to Sept. 1,” said Craig Jones, Peak to Peak Wood program manager.

The long-term goal of the Peak to Peak Wood program is to create a sustainable regional wood industry. The program will help establish business-to-business links through all steps in the production process, from contractors who cut the wood to retail outlets. All such businesses also will be eligible to participate in Colorado Forest Products, a free marketing assistance program managed by the Colorado State Forest Service.

“We believe the program will make it possible for entrepreneurs to enter the wood market with new ideas for using the wood because they will not have to invest as much time and capital to get started,” Jones said. “Through this program, secondary processors could see significant savings in sorting, transportation and warehousing throughout most of the year.”

Peak to Peak Wood administrators will continue to work with existing secondary processors such as sawmills, post and pole mills, and firewood wholesalers to ensure better utilization of the wood. They also will contact other processors to encourage use of local wood in the production of furniture, flooring, paneling, mulch and biofuels projects. Administrators hope to extend Peak to Peak Wood beyond the two-year grant by funneling wood-sale funds back into the program.

“Currently, only about 20 percent of the biomass generated from Front Range forest management projects is being utilized in any form. Most of it is being chipped or masticated on-site,” Jones said. “Creating local products and putting more of this biomass to work as energy makes sense on many levels, from carbon sequestration to reducing dependence on oil and developing local economies. We are excited about the potential contributions Peak to Peak Wood can make to this important effort.”