The first phase of a wildfire mitigation and habitat enhancement initiative led by Colorado West Land Trust on a conserved property in Plateau Valley has been completed.
Completed in partnership with the Western Colorado Conservation Corps (WCCC), the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) and Ute Water, the project aims to protect people, infrastructure and natural resources.
The project will establish a 300-foot-wide firebreak and use a mosaic approach to clear certain clusters of vegetation while leaving others intact. It will mitigate risks to infrastructure such as water pipes, the Vega Reservoir canal, the Molina Power Plant, and the Cottonwood Creek watershed, which supplies water to residents in unincorporated Mesa County and areas of Grand Junction.
โThe firebreak runs right along the hydroelectric dam penstocks that run through our property, generating electricity for the community,โ said Brad Baldwin, the landowner of the conserved property. โWhen cedar trees ignite, they explode and spread fire quickly from treetop to treetop,โ Baldwin said. โThe mosaic pattern cools the fire down and gives crews time to get in and do their work.โ
