Second Woody Biomass Sort Yard Open in Larimer County

CONTACT: Dave Lentz, LC Forester, 498-5765, dlentz@larimer.org

DATE: July 21, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Larimer County, Colorado – With an aim at creating healthier forests, a second woody bio mass sort yard opens in Larimer County on Saturday July 26, 2008. The Larimer County Department of Natural Resources is locating the yard in pasture land at the Colard Ranch in Stove Prairie, located at 2969 Stove Prairie Rd., south of the Stove Prairie School, northwest of Fort Collins.

This is the second woody bio mass sort yard to open in Larimer County; the first was opened on July 19 in Tahosa Valley southwest of Estes Park and is referred as the Meeker Park site.

The sort yards in Larimer County are part of a five-county effort working with the Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado Parks through a grant received by Colorado Parks. The intent of the grant is to promote forest health by encouraging land owners to thin their forested lands. Most forested lands along the Front Range are at a stocking level 2 to 3 times higher then a healthy stand should be. In addition to Larimer, Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson and Gilpin counties are part of the Peak to Peak Wood effort.

Landowners should thin their property and bring their round wood (logs) to the sort yard. The grant for this project calls for the logs to then be transferred to an end user who will produce products from the wood. The Colorado State Forest Service is working hard to develop a long term market for the small diameter logs. Please visit the Peak to Peak Wood web site at www.peaktopeakwood.org for additional information including log specifications.

During the mountain pine beetle flight (roughly now through the end of September) no infested logs will be accepted at the sites. The Stove Prairie site is not intended to be a slash disposal site, please continue to use the slash site in Rist Canyon. The sort yard will be open:

• This Saturday, July 26, from 9:00 am-4:00 pm

• Beginning Friday, August 1 - every Friday 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m., through September

• Saturdays 9:00a.m.-4:00p.m., through September.

Larimer County thanks the Colard family, without them this project would not be possible. Please contact Dave Lentz, Larimer County Forester, 498-5765,  dlentz@larimer.org, with additional questions, and please feel free to stop by the site to learn more. There will also be an open house during the opening on Saturday, July 26.

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