New growth takes hold at Sky Mountain Park.

Last year, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails thinned vegetation at Sky Mountain Park, Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve and Red Butte Ranch Open Space in order to spur new vegetative growth. It did not take long for nature to fill in the openings created by man and machine.

Now, OST is monitoring the effect of these latest efforts. After just nine months, native grasses and forbs are springing up alongside new growth from the oak roots and stumps in all three locations. Evidence of ungulates browsing on the young plants confirms the projects are meeting one of our primary objectives – increasing quality forage. We have established photo points to document the results of the work over time. The rains this spring and early summer certainly helped the regrowth of so many different species that now have more access to sunlight and water.

Vegetation treatments to clear old, decadent growth – through periodic cutting or, in some cases, prescribed fire – are an ongoing management tool for Open Space and Trails in cooperation with other agencies, including the Forest Service and area fire districts.

Last year’s work impacted over 100 acres. At Filoha Meadows, work focused on about 60 acres of Gambel oak and piñon-juniper, where pockets were cut by both hand and machine in a mosaic pattern to improve forage for elk and create sightlines for bighorn sheep. This important project included National Forest and Open Space lands, and was supported by the U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District.

At Sky Mountain Park, 45 acres of oak and chokecherry were targeted for clearing to create young, palatable plant growth for deer and elk, and spur a greater diversity of plant species for all wildlife. Both chokecherry and oak regenerate quickly from their roots. OST field staff walked a large portion of the masticated zone recently and found zero noxious weeds, confirming one of the benefits of mastication – it does not disturb the soil. (Mastication involves grinding vegetation into mulch-like pieces.)

The third project, on about 7 acres of Red Butte Ranch Open Space plus additional acreage on private land, reduced fire fuels near developed areas and improved wildlife habitat and forage in a key movement corridor at the edge of Aspen’s city limits. This public-private project was possible with the help of Aspen Fire staff and a grant received from the BLM. Though smaller in acreage, this project demonstrates the positive impact this work can have at any scale, and the more age-class diversity we can reintroduce to local shrublands across the landscape, the better!

Cutting trees and shrubs mimics wildfire’s ability to regenerate forest growth and reduces the buildup of old, decadent trees in the way that naturally occurring fires would, helping reduce the potential for large, destructive fires.

As the cut swaths fill in with wildflowers and other young plants, they quickly appear to be natural elements of the landscape. See if you can spot them the next time you traverse Skyline Ridge Trail, travel Hwy. 133, or walk down Cemetery Lane.

– By Pitkin County Open Space and Trails

KEY LINKS

Spurring new growth at Sky Mountain Park, Filoha Meadows (July 2023 OST blog)