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Timber program targets wildfire risk

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 28, 2008 at 9:05 p.m.

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Two Colorado state agencies and five Front Range counties have teamed to launch a program aimed at promoting a market for beetle-kill wood and other timber that would otherwise pose a wildfire risk.

Officials said they hope the program will spur demand for the wood to be used in furniture, flooring, paneling and other products.

The "Peak to Peak Wood" program is partly funded through a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service. The Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation and the Colorado State Forest Service administer the program.

So far, three "sort yards" have been created where wood from forestry projects can be dropped off and later sold: the Stove Prairie site in Larimer County; the Gilpin County site near Black Hawk; and the Meeker Park site, created through a joint effort involving Boulder and Larimer counties. Clear Creek and Jefferson counties also are participating.

"We believe the program will make it possible for entrepreneurs to enter the wood market with new ideas for using the wood because they will not have to invest as much time and capital to get started," said Craig Jones, Peak to Peak Wood program manager.