Allenspark Beetle Control

The ABC meeting was called to order by Karen Fuerst. Fourteen people were in attendance.

The Chain Saw Safety Class has been scheduled for June 6th, 2009.To reserve a spot, please contact Joe Turner at 303 772-7144. The class will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 1:00 p.m. The first half will be conducted in the classroom and the second half of the class will be outside using the chainsaws. Please bring any protective gear you might want to wear. Bob Sturtevant, who is an Extension Forestry Specialist from Colorado State University, will conduct the training.

The "Community Forest Sort Yard" is now open. In the past, we have been referring to this area as the air curtain burner. Below is a press release of the announcement for the opening.

Boulder County Forest Health News and Updates

Community Forestry Sort Yard to open for mountain residents on April 14.

County residents can use tree and slash drop-off site north of Allenspark/Meeker Park at no charge through mid- August.

The Community Forestry Sort Yard established last year along the Peak-to- Peak Highway accommodates residents in north Boulder and South Larimer Counties will re-open in April to accept trees and slash from private lands. The site is located north of Meeker Park on Highway 7, about one-eighth of a mile north of the Boulder/Larimer County line on the east side of the road.

Opening Day- Tuesday, April 14

The hours of operation will be: Tuesday- Saturday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Closed Sunday, Monday

Boulder County will operate the site in partnership with Larimer County, and there will no charge for residents to use the site. The site is scheduled to stay open through August 15th.

The Meeker Park site will accept any size trees with no diameter limit, although the county prefers logs that are cut in 8, 10 or 12 foot lengths with branches cut flush with the trunk because these can be used for posts and poles. Trees will be processed based on their condition or value for other applications. Beetle-invested wood will not be accepted during beetle flight(which takes place roughly from mid-July through the end of September.

For more information, visit: or call Wayne Harrington at 303 678-6368 or email pinebeetle@bouldercounty.org

After August 15th, the burner will most likely go to Nederland if their sort yard is ready. If not, we may be able to keep it longer.

The question that always comes up after the burner is closed is: "What do we do now with all the slash and infested wood?" Besides hauling it to Nederland, you will have to chip it. It is so important that the wood and slashed be removed immediately. The slash becomes a breeding spot for the ips beetle which definitely has increased in population.

It would be helpful for the tree contractors if unit neighbors try to coordinate the chipping within their neighborhood, so the contractor coming to chip, can get everyone chipped on the same day. Perhaps if you are interested in chipping, you can contact your unit coordinator and a group can be scheduled for the same day. The tree contractors would like you to do the following:

Future dates
May 6th- 3rd Annual Estes Park Tree Symposium 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Estes Park Holiday Inn
Keynote Speakers: Forest Entomologist Dave Leatherman and KUNC Gardener Tom Throgmorton
May 17th Ron Gosnell's field training to become a "Beetle Buster" -2:00 p.m. Meet at the Allenspark Fire Station. Learn how to identify infested trees and what to do about the attacked trees.
May 18th ABC monthly meeting at the Allenspark Fire Station 7:00 p.m.
June 6th Chain Saw Safety Class 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Call Joe Turner at 303 651-7144 to reserve a place for the class .
July 11th Annual Allenspark Beetle Control Workshop- more information will be forthcoming

The meeting was called to order by Edie DeWeese. There were 16 people in attendance.

Ron Gosnell will be organizing 2 more beetle workshops for 2009. These workshops have been very popular, so mark your calendar and attend one of these worthwhile events. It will be a hands on experience and participants will be out in the field identifying beetle trees and the signs of an attack. The first one is scheduled for Saturday, April 18th at 9:00 a.m. and the second one will be held on Sunday afternoon May 17th at 2:00 p.m. Meet outside the Allenspark Fire Station. People should dress for outdoor weather. Bring a hatchet, small knife, a magnifying glass and binoculars if you have them. After completing the workshop, you will be an official "Beetle Buster". Not only do you help yourself identify and successfully treat beetle trees, but you will be able to help others in your neighborhood.

Joe Turner will be scheduling another Chain Saw Safety Class. Date will be announced soon.

Edie will be contacting Scott Golden to find out the date for the opening of the Air Curtain Burner.

ABC will now have a special team for you to contact requesting help with problems concerning beetles on your property. The plan is this: The team will be able to refer you to someone who will know the answers to your questions and will be able to offer suggestions and help. Our liaison team will be Barb Baring and her husband, Jeff Davis. You may contact them at BeetleBusterWrangler@gmail.com. We are hoping to have "Beetle Busters" available to help you check your property. ABC has over 100 people trained people as "Beetle Busters", and we are confident these people will be willing to help out. There will be more information about this process as it is put into place. ABC is currently compiling a list of trained "Beetle Busters". You may be hearing from Barb and Jeff soon, or you can contact them if you are interested in helping others. This help is in addition to the help you already receive from your unit coordinator.

Our annual summer workshop is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, July 11th, 2009 at the Allenspark Fire Station. The workshop is designed for people who are new to the beetle problem, who are still learning about beetles and also for those who would like a refresher course. They will be time for questions and answers.

The ABC is putting together a list of local tree contractors who are in the business to help residents with beetle problems. If you are a tree contractor and are interested in being on this list, contact Karen Fuerst ASAP at: karenweaver@earthlink.net. State what services you provide and how you can be contacted.

Exciting News! Forest Management INC.(FMI) received a community service grant which will help facilitate getting the Colorado Wildfire Protection Plan(CWPP) published and will help with the distribution, education and implementation of the plan. The plan has been completed and will soon be ready for distribution.

The meeting was called to order by Edie DeWeese. There were 15 people in attendance.

There was a general discussion about sending out another special edition of The Wind containing updates and providing more information about the current beetle situation and what is happening in the Allenspark area. It was also discussed that a postcard might be attached inside the mailing and receivers of The Wind would be asked to return the postcards with their comments. Email addresses would be requested to make it easier for coordinators to contact the owners in their units.

There are no dates yet for the opening of the air curtain burner. It is possible that the burner will be in our area on alternating months. It was agreed that the burner is a very integral part of providing a way for disposing of infested trees and slash. The air curtain burner will have a grate and screen on the top this year, so hopefully on "no burn" days the burner can still operate.

It was also agreed that ABC should continue the outdoor training awareness classes and should have another informative workshop in the summer about identifying beetle trees and possible treatment methods.

Joe Turner, from Peak to Peak, will provide a list of contractors who will move infested wood for property owners to "curbside" on their properties for Peak to Peak to pickup and haul to a Biomass site for processing. Owners would pay the contractors for their services.

Karen Fuerst has volunteered to be a coordinator for the coordinators. She will be contacting them soon about their role as a unit coordinator and asking for comments and suggestions.

It was discussed about the possibility of making units smaller so they would be easier to cover. Additional volunteers would be needed to cover these smaller parcels of land.

The Wind will be sending out a very important special edition this spring focusing on the new Colorado Wildfire Protection Plan Plan (CWPP) for the Allenspark area that was prepared by hardworking volunteers over the last year. The plan will effect all of us, so it is imperative that everyone read the contents of the plan.

The meeting was called to order by Edie DeWeese. There were 25 people in attendance.

Ryan Rudlow, who is the Forestry Education and Outreach Coordinator for Boulder County introduced himself and talked about his job and his willingness to help private landowners. He can be reached at his direct line which is 720-564-2641 or at this office number 303-441-3930. His email address is:

Old business discussed included the success/failure of the air curtain burner and the number of trees hit this season. Unit coordinators are asked to report their numbers to Glenn Patterson at 303-747-2089 or go to the web site at . Click on "Neighborhoods" and then click on "Reporting Beetle Trees".

The consensus in the group was that the burner was a very useful tool to rid the forest of infested trees, slash and helping with wildfire mitigation. The major request was to have the burner open earlier in the spring and stay open later in the fall. The burner currently is in Nederland and will return to Allenspark in the spring. No date has been decided at this time.

Two people stated that they were pleased with the process of getting permission from the forest service to cut down infested trees on public land that were close to their property lines. You can call Maribeth at 303-541-2503 to learn more about the process. There is no fee for this service.

Ron Gosnell was asked to comment on the new problem regarding the ips beetle which has become a major concern in some areas. Ron explained that ips beetles can have 3-5 life cycles in a year which contribute to the quick spread throughout the forest. People expressed concern that it is difficult to find the attacked ips trees before it is too late. Often there is no blue stain, brood or pitchouts. Ron explained that ips are known to have a "feeding frenzy". The gallery pattern is different from the pattern when brood are established. During the "feeding frenzy" no brood are established. However the tree will still die. If you can not find brood, don't worry about the tree. Move on. Ips can over winter in any stage, whereas the mountain pine beetle over winters in the larvae stage. Ips epidemics can collapse as fast as they start.

Ron also was asked about the best time to cut infested trees. He felt that if it has brood, deal with it and take the tree out. Thinning and limbing should be done at times when the beetles are not flying. When Boulder County has fire ban days, the burner is not allowed to operate. It was suggested that purchasing a grinder would help solve that problem and also could continue to grind wood throughout the year. Boulder County was also talking about a protective screen to put over the burner to contain embers.

Jon Bell attended an event in Fort Collins about the problems and treatment of the beetles. He said it was very informative. He talked about a study done in Canada where a plane was taken up to 2-3000 feet, and the swarm of beetles showed up on the radar! Also, Fort Collins felt that the beetle problem they were having was not the result of beetle wood being trucked in but rather that they are flying in on their own. Verbenone was discussed, but more research is still needed to determine the effectiveness of it. The verbenone packets emit an odor that tells other beetles that the tree is full. Jon also had great success with his invented wood cooker. Keith Dever now has one too.

More help is needed in the Larimer County area. If you can help, call John Roehl at 970-577-9836.

The next meeting will be held on December 8th at the Allenspark Fire Station. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Dates for other meetings are: January 19, February 16n, March 16, April 20, May 18th. The public is invited to attend.

The minutes from the April 21st meeting were read by Karen Weaver Fuerst. Carol Halsey gave a financial update and reported that the Allenspark Beetle Control had received $4,843 in donations. Expenses have included two major mailings to all property owners, postage for thank you notes and money spent on websites and computer updates.

Jeff Rivard has volunteered to be the coordinator for Unit 4 St. Malo. His email address is thunderhoofs2@msn.com.

There were 35-40 participants at the Saturday, May 17th Beetle Buster training taught by Matt Jedra, our state forester.

Residents may call the Pesticide Hotline to find out where the US Forest Service will be spraying trees. The number is (303) 541-2539.The information is updated twice daily during the spring months. You can also go the US Forest Service web site. Click on "Projects and Plans" and look for the information on "Mountain Pine Beetles".

Tahosa Valley Landowner's Association is involved in a project using the BeetleBlock verbenone packets to repel beetles after they fly in late June/early July. Jan Meneley, at AgBio, is offering a discount to TVLA members for 10 dispenser packets at the bulk price of $80. You may contact Jan at (303) 469-9221 for more information. Let Matt Jedra know if you decide to do this, so he can keep data as to the results of the project.

The USFS Boulder Ranger District has developed a process for cutting trees on USFS System Lands adjacent to private land. If you are interested in learning more about this procedure, you should call Maribeth Peccotte at 303 541-2503. Requests for tree cutting will be listed and prioritized for a site visit by Maribeth. Turn around on requests may be delayed due to the high number of requests expected for 2008. Maribeth will be the only one receiving, processing and visiting areas. Priority will be given to "hot" trees over hazard trees.

The Allenspark Beetle Control web site has been updated to be more cost effective to operate. You can now go to www.allenspark.info and click on the section for "Allenspark Beetle Control". There is additional information about other organizations in the Allenspark area. Also, you can go directly to the Allenspark Beetle Control web site by typing in www.abc.allenspark.info.

Volunteer unit coordinators are asked to continue sending information to Glenn Patterson when hot beetle trees are located in their units. There are several ways to contact Glenn. You can go to www.abc.allenspark.info, click on "Neighborhoods" and then click on "Reporting Beetle Trees". Follow the directions on the page. You can also call him at (303) 747-2089. It is very important that we keep this information accurate and up to date and please remember to report properties that have been inspected and are clean of beetles.

There were more discussions about how to best dispose of beetle wood and slash. Boulder and Larimer Counties presented a proposal on May 21 addressing this issue. Charles Page has property just inside Larimer County on Route 7. His property is being considered as a possible site to house equipment like the air curtain burner, a large chipper and assorted support trucks and bulldozers which would be used to burn and chip the beetle trees. More community input is needed before the project can be finalized.

There will be a special Public Information Meeting about the beetle problem on Saturday evening, July 19th at 7:00 PM at the Allenspark Fire Station One. Information will be available about projects in the Allenspark area designed to prevent the spread of the beetle. Participants will also learn what they individually can do to help stop the beetles. Guest speakers will be invited to give presentations. Additional experts in the field will also be present to answer any questions you may have about the pine beetle. The public is invited to attend, and all Allenspark Area residents are encouraged to attend. This will be the only meeting of this nature for the 2008 beetle season.

Copies of the special Beetle Edition of the Wind were available to look at before they were sent to be mailed. Introductions were made around the table. Thirteen people were present, including Kathy Lentz from Nederland.

A report was made about the Saturday training session. There were 51 or 52 people present. After "classroom presentations" by David Leatherman and Ingrid Aguayo, the new state entomologist, the group shifted to the outdoor hands-on presentation. All types of beetle situations were viewed, including woodpecker activity, blind hits, and lots of pitch tubes and galleries. It was a successful field trip! The next training session will be on May 17th.

Ron reported that Jeff Rivard will be the coordinator for the Unit 4 St. Malo section. He will check with Jean Mundinger about Unit 23 Peaceful Valley. Unit 16 town of Allenspark may still be open. Unit 22 Post Hill S/Rockledge, and Unit 23 Bunce School still need coordinators. Dave Pinkow will take care of the Glacier View area.

Ron reminded those cutting trees to call their local power company if the trees are in danger of falling on power lines. They will send a crew out to help with removal.

Keith Dever is working on a job description for area coordinators which can be put on the web site. He also reminded us that the Larimer county landowners did not receive the general mailing which included the yellow post cards. Jerry Halsey will contact Keith to determine if a mailing at this point would be appropriate.

Edie is going to continue to work on getting a mission statement that can also be included on the web site.

Kevin Zimlinghaus, US Forest Service, reported on future Forest Service activities. They will be spraying developed sites (campgrounds) in several areas. Those in our area are near Nederland, Olive Ridge and Meeker Park. Signs will be posted around these areas and along the roadway. These signs will have a phone number to call to get daily updated information about the specific spray date. This information will also be updated on the ARNF web page. Both the phone number and the web site address will be posted on the ABC page as soon as this information is available.

As a point of interest, he also told of a project that involves spraying a stand of limber pines at 11400 feet elevation. The beetles are headed that way, and this stand has two parent trees that have tested rust resistant. They are attempting to collect as many cones from these rust resistant trees as possible.

Kevin also presented a DRAFT process for cutting trees on FS lands adjacent to private lands. This draft needs final approval, but will be posted on the ABC web page when it is available, possibly around the first of May. The federal regulations that need to be followed make this process a logistical headache.

The next meeting will be held at the Community Room on May 19th at 7:00. The public is invited to attend!

First on the agenda was a discussion about insuring that the Allenspark Park Beetle Control Organization(ABC) has a volunteer coordinator for all 27 units. Currently, ABC is still looking for volunteers to help in Unit 4 St. Malo, Unit 16 Allenspark, Unit 22 Post Hill S/Rockledge, Unit 23 Bunce School and Unit 23 Peaceful Valley. Ron Gosnell offered to check with people in St. Malo and Ruth Olstrom will check for volunteers for the town of Allenspark. It is important to have all 27 units monitored for beetle trees.

Stan Huntting presented every unit coordinator with a list of owners and addresses of people in their unit. He also included information on who responded to the October mass mailing and what comments they may have made.

Concerns were raised about how to get the forest service more involved in our efforts to control the beetle. Keith Dever and Edie DeWeese volunteered to contact Christine Walsh from Boulder County.

Property owners who border the national park and know of beetle trees on adjacent park land can request that the park service remove the trees. For more information, call Doug Watry (970) 586-1211 or Brian Verhulst (970) 586-1443.

Gene Mackey is compiling a list of residents who have been trained as "beetle busters". It was suggested that teams could form to help survey properties that need to be checked. It is much easier and goes more quickly when you have a group working together looking for beetle trees.

ABC's mission was discussed and reviewed by Ron Gosnell. He reminded us that the beetles will always be there, but because of drought, age of forests, climatic changes, etc., the beetles are getting the upper hand. He encouraged us to keep in mind that if we can eliminate many of the beetles, we can stay the course until the beetle population begins to decline. It happened in the 70s for no apparent reason. ABC will continue to monitor annually the number of new beetle hits. Human interaction can change the course of the spread of the beetles.

Volunteer coordinators will be asked each year to report the number and location of beetle trees in their units. This reporting will be done online with a program Stan Huntting is creating. We will find out more about this in the next couple of weeks.

The Wind will be coming out with a special edition mid April focusing on the pine beetle. It will be sent to all property owners in the 27 units as well as to the people who subscribe to The Wind.

John Bell, a resident of the Allenspark area, talked about his new prototype he has developed that "cooks" the beetle wood. He has information on how to build and operate one if you choose to get rid of your beetle trees in this manner. You can cook 1/2 cord of wood in a day. Very promising and unique. Contact him at .

Gene Mackey has been in touch with Scott Golden and Eric Phillips about where to put the air curtain burner when it comes to Allenspark this summer. More information to follow.

The National Park Service will be training their employees on the proper use of a chain saw. We have been invited to attend the training as well. We will notify you of the date when it has been determined.

Barbara Smith has volunteered to be the ABC contact person for people who have questions about the beetle project and also on how to get information about all kinds of beetle related questions. You can contact her at .

The next "beetle buster" training meeting will be held on Saturday, April 19th at 9:00a.m. at he Allenspark Fire Station. Please try to attend one of these training sessions and be sure to bring your friends.

The next monthly ABC organizational meeting will be Monday, April 21 at the Allenspark Fire Station at 7:00p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

The first Allenspark Beetle Control business meeting for 2008 was held on Monday night at the fire station at 7:00 p.m.

Carol Halsey reported on the results of the mass mailing that was sent out to property owners in the Allenspark area last November. Approximately 1300 letters were sent to area residences. 214 people responded to the letter by returning the yellow post cards. One of the goals of ABC will be to contact all these people who made comments and asked for assistance. Unit volunteer coordinators will be receiving a list of people from their unit who returned cards and had questions or comments. More information will be forth coming on how this will be done.

The ABC received 85 donations totally $4,642. The mailing and other expenses thus far have cost $1,146, so the ABC has a net balance of approximately $3,496. A BIG thank you to all the people who sent in a donation!

Three members from a local boy scout troop and their leader attended the ABC meeting inquiring on ways they might be able to help with our beetle project. Suggestions ranged from increasing public awareness, making posters, going door to door talking with neighbors in the community to walking properties identifying and tagging beetle trees. They may be able to help in areas where there are no coordinators or where no one is available to walk properties identifying beetle hits. Discussions will continue about ways they can help the ABC and hopefully, we will have a plan in place by early spring. The boy scout troop will be participating in a beetle identification training with Ron Gosnell on March 22 at 9:00 a.m. They will meet at the Allenspark Fire Station.

Chuck Leibbrand, a licensed arborist, attended the meeting to let us know that he has a portable saw mill and is offering his services in any way that may help. He can be contacted at (970) 217-2782 or dryvalleysawmill.vflyer.com

Joe Turner, who provides a wide range of forestry services in our area, heard about a newly developed procedure to help trees before they are hit and also to save trees after a beetle attack. The chemical, harpoon, is injected into the tree every 6 inches around the circumference of the tree. Each injection around the base of the tree costs $4.00. It comes in boxes of 25 or a case for 100. It is best to apply at the start of the flight season. It is effective for 30-45 days. Joe will be finding out more information about this technique and will present the information at the next meeting. He will also find out who is certified to perform this procedure and where these companies are located.

ABC is still looking at larger areas for residents to bring their slash materials. The current location near the fire station is not large enough. The old dump near highways 7&72 was discussed as a possible location.

Boulder County has purchased an air incinerator for disposing of beetle wood. More information is needed about how this incinerator will be utilized.

If you need plastic for covering beetle trees, you can contact Joe Turner. He has purchased a number of rolls and will sell them at cost for $25.00 a roll. You can contact him at (877) 394-1844 or a

Carol and Jerry Halsey have available rolls of the colored tape for tagging beetle trees. They can be reached at

As you may know, the ABC has divided the Allenspark area into 27 units. Each unit as a volunteer coordinator who helps area residents learn about the pine beetle. We are still looking for coordinators for Unit 22 Post Hill/Rockledge and Unit 23 Bunce School. Please contact Karen at karenweaver@earthlink.net if you can help out.

Future training workshops for identifying beetle trees will be:
March 22, April 19 and May 17. They will begin at 9:00 a.m. from the Allenspark Fire Station. Please bring a magnifying glass, small knife and a hatchet if you can.

There will be a Community Beetle Information meeting on Saturday, July 19th at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Allenspark Fire Station. The public is invited.

The meeting was called to order by ABC coordinator Edie De Weese. Approximately 42 people attended the meeting. Residents new to the ABC organizational meetings introduced themselves.

The subject of spraying healthy trees was discussed. Thoughts and opinions were shared by participants. In summary, it really is an individual's decision whether to spray or not. Some residents discussed their reasons for spraying. They wanted to protect highly valued trees on their property and felt that until neighborhood areas were being closely watched and the beetle trees removed, they would spray for a short term solution. Spraying may repel the beetles from the trees, but the beetles will only move on to other trees. Long term solutions include developing wild fire mitigation plans to thin your forest thus creating healthy trees which are better able to fight beetle attacks. This also helps protect the forest against wild fires.

The devastation of the trees on the western slope was also discussed. The forest there were predominately lodge pole pines and all about the same age. It had been drier there making the forests more susceptible to beetle attacks. Again, the best long term solutions available are thinning your forests, providing for a variety of species of trees and making sure there are trees of various ages in the forest. Considering the total eco system is important.

Pine beetles are native to Colorado and are always present. Adverse weather conditions make the trees unhealthy and susceptible to attack. Beetle numbers increase when this happens. When beetles fly, they usually travel 30-90 feet, but can travel 1- 2 miles if wind is a factor.

The beetles will be flying soon, so it is important that live beetle trees are removed ASAP before they infect other trees. The fall and winter months will be the next time to start checking for new attacks. Newly attacked trees should be treated as quickly as possible.

Forest Management INC(FMI) has some money that can be used to reinburse people for their expenses pertaining to mailing, postage etc. ABC is part of FMI which is a non profit organization and legally recognized by the state of Colorado. Currently FMI's tax ID has expired, but the necessary paperwork will be completed by the Halseys to reinstate the ID number. If people want a tax deduction for their expenses, they will have to wait until all the paperwork has been completed.

Forester Matt Jedra discussed ABC Units Rock Creek and Meeker Park which are USFS areas. Over the years, USFS has given long term leases for people to lease their land. The USFS will provide them with 150- 200 feet of defensible space around their cabins, thus giving the lessee permission to remove unhealthy trees. The forest service will not remove the trees.

Kevin Zimlinghaus, USFS, is still working on getting a fuel cutting permit so people can have permission to cut down beetle trees on national forest property. Currently the National Park Service is only treating high use areas and not any other areas within the park.

Options for treating beetle trees:
1. Solar Treatment- Trees need to be cut down and the limbs removed. Trees are watered and then covered with 6mm clear plastic being sure that the space is airtight. The temperature needs to reach at least 110 degrees in order to kill the beetles. Logs should be rolled every few weeks to be sure that beetles on the underside are also exposed to sunlight.
2. Debarking- This process takes the bark off the tree. A debarker is attached to a chain saw. The bark can be left out in the open for the birds to eat the beetles.
3. Chipping- This process chips all the wood. The chips are spread on the ground and allowed to dry out thus killing the beetles.

Do not put slash piles near healthy trees. They should be at least 20-30 feet away from your trees. Slash piles attract other insects such as the ips beetle.

Long term goals for ABC were discussed. Looking into grant money, finding a permanent station to bring slash for treatment and looking for productive uses of cut wood and chips were a few of the items discussed. Perhaps next year Americorps could help in the treatment of the beetle trees.

Unit coordinators are reporting to Glenn Patterson the number of beetle trees they are finding and how they are being treated. This information is being recorded on maps which will be shared with our state forestry service.

There will be another Beetle Buster training conducted by Matt Jedra from the state forest service. It will be held on Saturday, June 30th at 9:00 am. Please come to the Allenspark Fire station for a short workshop, and then be prepared to go into the forest looking for beetles. Bring a hunting knife, a magnifying glass and a hatchet. The public is welcome to participate.

An ABC informational meeting will be held on Saturday, July 21st. It is hoped that our summer residents and anyone else new to ABC will attend this meeting. People will have an opportunity to learn about what has been happening in the Allenspark community and will be able to ask any questions they may have pertaining to the mountain pine beetle and treatment options for infected trees.

Area residents new to the Allenspark Beetle Control introduced themselves at the meeting.

The 27 units of the Allenspark area were discussed again to update changes and confirm assignments.

Unit 1 Tahosa Valley- Herb Hoover- to be confirmed
Unit 2 Rockwood- Bill Browning
Unit 3 Big Owl West- needs a coordinator
Unit 4 Malo- needs a coordinator
Unit 5 Cabin Creek North Tom Gramowski,
     Meeker Park Estates- Steve Coles
     Cabin Creek Road odd numbers- Rich Bellows
Unit 6 Big Owl East- Ruth and Michael Dzik
Unit 7 Coyote Hill- Gary Williams
Unit 8 Cabin Creek South- Jon and Karen Fuerst
Unit 9 USFS Meeker- Matt Jedra
Unit 10 Meeker Park West- Laura Dever
Unit 11 Tahosa Park North-Laura Dever
Unit 12 Wild Basin- Brad Martin and Danny St. John
     North part over the ridge of Wild Basin- Laura Dever
Unit 13 Lab Road/Olive Ridge East -Robert Kerr
Unit 14 Olive Ridge West- Barb Smith
Unit 15 Triple Creek- Rob Lewis
Unit 16 Allenspark- John Thweatt
Unit 17 Ski Road South- needs a coordinator
Unit 18 USFS Rock Creek
Unit 19 Ferncliff - Stan Huntting
Unit 20 Arrowood- Glenn Patterson
Unit 21 Pine Valley- Keith Hewitt
Unit 22 Post Hill South/Rockledge- needs a coordinator
Unit 23 Bunce School- needs a coordinator
Unit 24 Big John/Dry St. Vrain- Jerry and Carol Halsey
Unit 25 Riverside- Don Metzner
Unit 26 Raymond- Les Male
Unit 27 Peaceful Valley- needs a coordinator

There will be a unit coordinators' meeting at 6:00pm on Monday, June 25th at the fire station.

There will also be an Allenspark Beetle Control public meeting following the coordinators' meeting that will begin at 7:00pm. Both meetings will be held at the Allenspark Fire Station.

The goals of the ABC were discussed and that it is important to have short term and long term goals. Our main goal for right now is to keep the beetles in check, so they do not destroy and kill additional trees. We do not want a lot of dead trees in a short period of time. The Western slope has had difficulty getting rid of their large number of dead trees from beetle attacks.

State forester, Matt Jedra, talked about an air curtain burner which can clean up large piles of slash. It cost the state $2700 a week. People would have to bring the slash to a designated site. At this time, this is still in the beginning of stages or organizing.

Bill Browing made a presentation showing what a debarker looks like and how to use it on the chain saw. More information about where and how to purchase a debarker will be posted on the web site. There will be a link to a catalogue.

Slash piles should be at least 60-100 feet away from healthy trees, so the piles don't attract beetles.

Carol Halsey talked about the two new forestry laws which were recently signed into law by Governor Ritter. They are posted on the web site for reading.

Carol and Jerry Halsey made a donation to ABC of blue ribbon and blue/white ribbon for tagging trees. The blue ribbon is to be used for trees that need to be cut down, and the blue/white ribbon is for trees that are being watched or are in question. Thank you to the Halseys. If anyone needs to purchase these ribbons, they will be at the Meeker Park Lodge store.

Matt Jedra will be conducting another 'Beetle Buster' training on Saturday, June 30th at 9:00am. Meet at the Allenspark Fire Station. Bring a hunting knife, hatchet, binoculars and magnifying glasses.

Mary Hunter representing "Friends of the Forest" made a short presentation about what they are trying to accomplish and invited everyone to attend their meeting on Wednesday, May 30th at the Wild Basin Lodge at 7:00pm. They will be discussing the concerns about the ATVs impact on the Bunce School Road and other issues.

Matt Jedra will be our official forester from the state and will be helping us coordinate all the efforts pertaining to fighting the pine beetle. He brought along a map that showed bark beetle infestations for 2006. It is an ariel photo. The red areas on the map indicated the areas of infestation.

Ron, Bob Bundy and Matt divided the Allenspark Communnity into 27 units. Maps were available, so we could look at boundaries and see how the area had been divided. These maps are available on the new Allenspark Beetle Control website. There was discussion again about the problems of "hot" beetle trees on public land and how it impacts private landowners.

The US Forest Service will be conducting a class next year pertaining to chain saw safety.

The discussion continued around the 27 units and volunteers were assigned to units close to their homes. If your name appears by one of the units, you were volunteered!!! We will be discussing the units again at the next meeting. Nothing is set in stone. It is just a beginning for getting the units organized.
Unit 1 Tahosa Valley- Herb Hoover
Unit 2 Rockwood Bill Browning
Unit 3 Big Owl West
Unit 4 Malo
Unit 5 Cabin Creek North Tom Gramowski, Jon Fuerst
Unit 6 Big Owl East Michael Dzik
Unit 7 Coyote Hill- Gary Williams?
Unit 8 Cabin Creek South Jon Fuerst
Unit 9 USFS Meeker
Unit 10 Meeker Park West Laura Dever
Unit 11 Meeker Park East Laura Dever
Unit 12 Wild Basin
Unit 13 Lab Road/Olive Ridge East Robert Kerr
Unit 14 Olive Ridge West Barb Smith
Unit 15 Triple Creek
Unit 16 Allenspark John Thweat
Unit 17 Ski Road South
Unit 18 USFS Rock Creek
Unit 19 Ferncliff Stan Huntting
Unit 20 Redfield Ridge Glenn Patterson
Unit 21 Pine Valley Keith Hewitt
Unit 22 Post Hill/Rockledge Barb Baring, ?Larry Sexton
Unit 23 Bunce School
Unit 24 Big John/Dry St. Vrain Jerry and Carol Halsey
Unit 25 Riverside- possibly Don Metzner ?
Unit 26 Raymond possibly Les Male?
Unit 27 Peaceful Valley

Glenn Patterson agreed to keep track of all the hot beetle trees and record the progress on treatment and results. Unit coordinators will send him the information they have collected about the beetle progress in their areas.

Mat passed around a jar of dead mountain pine beetles! There was discussion of colors of flagging ribbon and who might make them available for purchase in a store. Tentatively blue indicates the tree needs to come down and blue and white means not to cut it yet. The tree is being monitored.

Ron Gosnell asked for a new coordinator for the ABC, so he would be able to pursue other forestry interests relating to maintaining heathy forests. Karen Weaver Fuerst agreed to be the secretary of ABC with help from Carol Halsey. Everyone was asked to think about a possible coordinator for the ABC and bring names to the next meeting.

On Tuesday, May 15th, Ron met with Bob Bundy, Nicole and Matt at the Colorado State Forest Service Office near Lyons.

Bob had downloaded and printed some maps on which the group platted tentative neighborhood beetle control boundaries.

Bob will electronically place these boundaries and the maps with neighborhood units on the internet for us to see. They made some changes to the boundaries discussed at the meeting so that the designated neighborhood units could be reasonably manageable for beetle control volunteers.

The were able to successful encompass the entire Allenspark Fire Protection District.

They felt that for the volunteers, the existing road network serviced as the best recognizable dividing lines, rather than attempting to delineate "biological units" following natural features.

The MPB control unit neighborhood maps will be available for electronic distribution in a few days.

This way any Beetle Buster could then download and print their own specific neighborhood unit and use their map in the field. Location of beetle trees could then be plotted on the maps followed by designation with a code for successful treatment.

Bob can also provide on these same maps, property boundary lines and landowner names and addresses plus on other maps the location of beetle pockets mapped from an aircraft in late 2005, updated by the 2006 aerial survey beetle pockets when that years mapping info is available electronically.

John Chapman offered that through his mapping sources, he may be able to give us supporting vegetation and slope information on these same maps or map overlays. Vegetation types, densities and slope are important considerations for fire danger and risk assessment necessary for wildfire protection planning.

Approximately 60 people attended the meeting including the Colorado State Forest Service, US Forest Service and local tree companies in the area. Members of Forest Management Inc. were also present.

Ron presented copies of the minutes from the April 30th meeting and presented everyone with a new agenda and an Activity To Do List to help us get started in our fight against the pine beetle.

He began by starting with the items on the Activity List and encouraged discussion and participation. Listed below are the discussions:

1. On Saturday, May 12th, a large number of area residents turned out for a beetle workshop and field training experience. They will now be called "The Beetle Busters" and hopefully will be able to answer questions in the future about identification and treatment of the pine beetle.

2. There was a lot of discussion on how to handle the problem of beetle kill on public lands and how to deal with the problem when it is close to private property. Kevin Zimlinghaus from the US Forest Service said that he is working on a permit process that may be promising to allow land owners living near infested beetle public land to treat the pine beetle on US property. A comment was made that we should get in touch with our legislators to cut down the red tape in trying to acquire a permit.

3. Craig Jones of the Governor's energy office spoke of his availability to coordinate utilization of wood and wood waste from beetle control and forestry work to energy.

4. A great portion of the meeting was directed toward discussing how to organize our neighborhoods and communities. It was decided that the Allenspark area(the actual fire district) should be divided into neighborhoods such as Big Owl, Cabin Creek, Raymond, Ski Road South, Post Hill, Conifer Hill, Lab Road just to mention a few. There were many more areas named. One hope was that a volunteer could be assigned to each of these areas to help coordinate activities. Ron and Bob Bundy said they would have maps of the Allenspark area ready for the next meeting and will have them divided into many different neighborhoods. A list of possible activities for each site will be developed.

5. It was discussed about finding a location to stock and sell certain items such as flagging ribbon, a possible bark debarker, 6 ml plastic and other supplies needed in the treatment plan for the beetle. Ferncliff was mentioned.

6. FMI(Forest Management Inc) member, Jerry Halsey, suggested that since they were already a legal entity, that the Allenspark Beetle Control(ABC) might benefit by coming under their umbrella. Consensus agreed it was a good idea. That would make grant money and other perks available to the ABC. Several members of FMI are also participating in ABC.

7. Listed below are the tree companies that were present at the meeting. They offer services to help with cutting, treating, chipping or providing a place to take the treated logs(Gary's saw mill)

Gary Williams Joe Turner 1-800-800-8664 Mike's Tree Service Estes Park (970) 586-7546 Diamond Tree Service(Howard Burkhart) (970) 586-4735

These companies do not do preventive spraying but can help with every other facet of pine beetle management.

8. Kevin explained that an action plan for 2007 has already been developed to work on the campgrounds and trailheads to combat the beetle. They are spraying Carbaryl on high valued trees, cutting and debarking other trees with active beetle. There isn't additional money available presently to add any more projects to the 2007 list.

9. There was discussion about fire mitigation, bio fuel and how to dispose of slash. John Chapman explained how communities could develop fire mitigation plans and possible qualify for grant money. The plan for fire mitigation could be tied in with the beetle infestation.

10. Allen Owen, CSFS Boulder District Forester reported that the CSFS has an agreement with the USFS and will be doing defensible space work with lessees(owners of cabins or residences on USFS land), and he will include beetle tree identification and treatment routinely as he helps these people implement defensible space projects on this Forest Service land.

It was agreed that Tuesday, May 29th would be a good date for the next meeting. Ron will check to be sure that the fire station is available. For final confirmation of this date, go to the beetle web site in a few days.

The meeting had been called by Keith Dever and Ron Gosnell to gage community interest in Pine Beetle Control.

Thirty five people in attendance signed in with names and contact information, and this included representatives from RMNP, USDA Forest Service, Colorado State Forest Service and Boulder County.

Self-introductions were made. Ron Gosnell asked and then was encouraged to proceed and facilitate this first meeting.

There was agreement expressed that the subject of pine bark beetle (MPB) control was important to the community and by virtue of this turn-out and interest on the part of participants, a control effort organization was begun, initiated with this first organizational meeting. 11:30 was targeted to adjourn.

It was generally agreed that this communities MPB control effort will be based upon: EDUCATION, COOPERATION/RESPECT, SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES, INVITED OUTSIDE HELP, and COMMUNICATION, as was suggested in the recent Allenspark WIND beetle articles.

Ron suggested that a “standards for success” goal be to effectively treat 100% of all identified beetle infested trees, with an overall effectiveness of at least 95%. He emphasized the difficulty of locating all currently infested trees, though that is desired. A post beetle-flight assessment (red tops missed) compared to the number of trees treated, can determine control effectiveness.

Jerry Halsey of the non-profit Allenspark Forest Management Inc. (FMI) announced that FMI has approximately $2800 seed money that possibly could be used toward beetle control coordination. Note: the FMI organization was established during the previous control effort in the late 1970’s as a legal entity to assist the Allenspark Beetle Control Committee (ABC), market beetle kill wood and help thin area forests to improve tree vigor. Jon Bell shared an old photograph of the FMI wood lot.

Copies of a draft listing of 25 TO DO activities needed for success were handed out. Before an attempt to make responsibility assignments, it was suggested we move first to Agency Updates. We did.

Jeff Conner of RMNP shared the Park’s Bark Beetle Management Plan EA and an aerial insect survey map showing insect infestations. Jeff stated that if the community is to attempt beetle control it must be now before it is too late, like on the west slope. The recent drought, crowded trees and other forest condition stresses have trees pre-disposed to beetles. Jeff explained the unprecedented forest insect problems and actions being taken by the Park including SANATATION (DIRECT CONTROL) to reduce beetle numbers, CULTURAL to increase tree vigor, and PREVENTION to protect some selected high value trees. Jeff also answered beetle questions and offered if anyone had any specific issues for beetles and RMNP to contact him.

Kevin Zimlinghaus presented the Forest Service on-going beetle work and emphasized that much of the FS beetle budget is on the west slope and his district beetle funds were cut which prevented planned SANITATION from being completed. A resident was concerned that non-owner residents were not properly notified of planned PREVENTION spraying. A 26th item was added to the TO DO activity list, public notification of spraying, and it was suggested that the person confronted with a lack of notification please take responsibility to help the FS with a solution. It may include something as simple as a Post Office posted notice by the FS. Kevin offered that anyone with specific USFS issues can contact him.

Bob Bundy of CSFS presented the States role as primarily education and training. He reported on other beetle control organizations including a group called beetle busters who are citizen individuals trained to help find and identify beetle trees. CSFS has a beetle tree treatment guidelines handout. Thirty four people signed up to receive this hands-on beetle training Saturday morning May 12 beginning at the Fire Station. Bob reminded people that there are only three foresters total in his office so he tries to make the best use of his time training, and one way is to train people to be beetle identifier trainers—that is he wants to Train the Trainers!

Chad Julian of Boulder County Parks and Open Space explained that BCPOS works primarily on OS lands and there are none in the AP area but help on conservation easements may be a possible role for the county as well as slash disposal assistance. He will communicate about this meeting with the County Wildfire Mitigation Coordinator.

It was decided to have the next meeting soon and in the evening so more working residents can attend. Monday May 14, 7 PM at the Fires Station was chosen and Keith Dever confirmed the station’s availability for both the Saturday training and Monday evening meeting.

Next meetings agenda will include sign up responsibilities for necessary TO DO activities. Meeting participants were reminded to review the list of 26 and suggest modification or add to it for discussion. This listing is based upon Allenspark’s previous successful beetle control effort, which began about 35 years ago.