Jefferson County plans more forest mitigation work in several of its parks in the next two years, work outlined under a 2022 Jefferson County Open Space Forest Health Plan designed to protect the areas and nearby communities from wildfire.
This year, the county plans to mitigate 86 acres in Conifer鈥檚 Beaver Ranch Park and begin similar work on 72 at Lookout Mountain Preserve. The Preserve is at the top of Lookout Mountain near the Nature Center and Boettcher Mansion.
In coming years, the county will do more work at Conifer鈥檚 Meyer Ranch and Flying J parks, where some work has already been done. It will also return to multiple other parks where it鈥檚 done work to remove seedlings that have since grown in areas where projects first began 10 to 15 years ago.
While the scale of work at each site varies, it often includes cutting large swaths of trees to help slow the spread of wildfire. The county鈥檚 report says removing stands of live trees also returns the areas to a more natural state. A century of fire suppression has made the forests unnaturally dense and unhealthy, according to the report.
鈥淚f we can keep those fires burning low to the ground because there鈥檚 greater spacing among trees, that鈥檚 healthier for our forest,鈥� Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper said. 鈥淚f we have fires that continue to crown and throw embers, and create a heat that damages the landscape for decades, we won鈥檛 see that native vegetation come back, or wildlife. We won鈥檛 see that forest we love.鈥�
But the work done so far has been jarring to many who use and love the county鈥檚 parks and trails. Sections of once-shady trails in Flying J Ranch, Evergreen鈥檚 Alderfer/Three Sisters and Evergreen鈥檚 Elk Meadow are now devoid of trees, altering the area鈥檚 appearance and the experience of visiting the parks, concerned residents say.
鈥淥ver the last year or two, I noticed some pretty hefty clear cutting at Meyer Ranch,鈥� said Taylor Short, a Conifer native and Highlands Ranch resident who runs a nature-based mental health program called Harmonious Return. 鈥淚 was personally horrified.
鈥淚 think we all want what鈥檚 best, but we need to have the public鈥檚 involvement in this,鈥� he continued 鈥淲e just need to have a temporary moratorium on what鈥檚 happening to consider what other options we could be looking at. How can we come together to find a better way for everyone?鈥�
Short has attended meetings coordinated by the grassroots environmental group, Eco-Integrity Alliance. The group says on its website that 鈥渁ggressive logging (is) decimating Jefferson County Open Space Parks.鈥�
County leaders say that鈥檚 not true.
Jeffco Open Space includes about 25,300 acres of forest. Since 2020, the county has done forest mitigation on about 927 acres 鈥� just over 3.5% of its total acreage.
鈥淚 would caution you to think that it鈥檚 large-scale,鈥� said Matt Robbins, deputy director of Jeffco Open Space. 鈥淚f you factor in the upcoming projects, the total increases to 1,526 acres (or 6.03%) by the end of 2029.鈥�
The county contracts with forest companies to do the work. But representatives of companies in both Oregon and Colorado say Colorado鈥檚 timber is not considered high-quality or profitable, and is consequently hard to dispose of.
Jeffco Parks and Open Space Director Tom Hoby said its Forest Health Plan was created by a team of experts in partnership with the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute who applied 鈥渁 significant amount of science.鈥� And it鈥檚 critical in Jefferson County, county leaders note, which ranks No. 1 in Colorado for high and extreme wildfire risk areas. Within the county, Evergreen and Conifer are among the highest risk areas, according to the Verisk/ISO Stateline Report.
鈥淥ur focus in Jeffco is how do we balance the safety of our community in a very high-risk fire environment with forest health and the experience of those who enjoy hiking on our Jeffco Open Space trails?鈥� Dahlkemper said. 鈥淲e have to think through all of those components.鈥�
Dahlkemper admits the changes made to the landscape can be 鈥渟urprising,鈥� especially right after the work is done.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no question about it; the first year is always the most challenging,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut after a few years, you see native grasses come back, and wildlife return in abundance. We鈥檙e conducting good stewardship of the forest.鈥�
Area residents don鈥檛 all see it that way. Some decry not only the visual impact, but the wood chips and other forest debris left in the wake of the work. They鈥檙e concerned about the impact to wildlife, and say some studies suggest .
鈥淚t鈥檚 a blunt-force trauma, what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� said Evergreen鈥檚 Ruthe Hannington, who鈥檚 also attended Eco-Integrity Alliance meetings. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e leaving more fuel on the floors, which makes it much more vulnerable to new fire.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really into fire mitigation up here, and we鈥檙e into forest health. And we鈥檙e also into having our recreational spaces protected and not ripped apart.鈥�
Short and Hannington are among a group of people who want to see more public involvement in the decisions.
Dahlkemper said that鈥檚 already happened and will continue to. Based on community feedback, changes have been made in the mitigation work, she said.
鈥淭hey are leaving more trees along trails to help with additional shading and leaving some stands of trees to assist with that experience hikers love,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he community鈥檚 feedback is important to us, and it鈥檚 also important we listen to that feedback and adapt our mitigation work as we can to those concerns, while at the same time staying true to the strategic focus of thinning forests based on science.
鈥淛efferson County is transparent about the work we do regarding forest mitigation,鈥� she added, pointing to virtual town halls, regular meetings and the posted Forest Health Plan as evidence. 鈥淥ur community has access to all that information.鈥�
She also encouraged residents to email commissioners with questions or concerns at commish@jeffco.us.
More mitigation will happen in other parks in the future, Robbins said.
鈥淭he work is not done,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e understand the risk that exists out there, and we want to be responsive and responsible with our 25,000 acres of forest land, so we continue to work on it.鈥�
Robbins said the county plans to publicly release its upcoming mitigation plans as part of its 2026 to 2030 Conservation Greenprint, which details such projects and their funding. The is online.
The county also plans several public meetings about the 2026 to 2030 Conservation Greenprint in the next few weeks. The dates and times are not yet set.