Crystal Lakes Basecamp Stand-Scale Treatment
Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project
View from the parking lot. Lodgepole pine will be removed to reduce risk of high intensity fire and promote aspen growth.
The treatment are totals 27.1 acres of dry mixed-conifer, containing lodgepole pine, limber pine, ponderosa pine, and Englemann spruce.
Introduction and Purpose of Project
The Red Feather Lakes Area Wildfire Defense Project, jointly administered by Larimer County Office of Emergency Management and Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and funded through the US Department of Agriculture Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program, focuses on four main objectives to improve wildfire readiness:
1. Reduction of hazardous fuels in open space, along roadways, and on private properties
2. Reduction of risk to properties through hazard assessment and defensible space treatments
3. Improved evacuation plans, procedures, and routes
4. Enhanced community capacity to handle woody biomass generated during these treatments
The Crystal Lakes Basecamp Project was prioritized by the Crystal Lakes Community Wildfire Protection Plan and the Crystal Lakes Community. It will be implemented in the fall/winter of 2026 and spring of 2027. This project will address objectives 1 and 3, and continue to build local capacity through building up a contractor base.
Project Area & Description
The project area is located within Crystal Lakes Fire Protection District, just outside the Basecamp Community Center. It consists of 27.1 acres of mostly community-owned green space along Wapiti Road, Tami Road, and Kanawha Court (see map). The forest type in the treatment area is dry mixed-conifer, consisting of lodgepole pine and aspen trees with pockets of limber pine, ponderosa pine, Englemann spruce, and Douglas-fir. The landscape is made up of a mix of open meadows, and large thick conifer stands that have encroached and grown into aspen meadows. The east side of the treatment starts flat and slopes up steeply towards the private land. Trails run through sections of the treatment area that may be closed off while equipment is on the ground. The treatment area is bordered on all sides by private properties owned by homeowners that are part of the Crystal Lakes Homeowners Association.
Crystal Lakes has identified this community-owned greenspace as a priority and some adjacent landowners have allowed access to the space through their properties. Right-of-Entry forms are in place for the greenspace parcel and adjacent landowners for treatment. Once completed, this project will protect several key community values at risk identified in the Crystal Lakes Wildfire Protection plan, open escape routes connecting the north side of the community to 73C, and create a wildfire mitigation demonstration site for the rest of the Crystal Lakes homeowners.
Desired Future Conditions
The desired future condition of the project area is a greenspace with aspen replacing stands of what is now lodgepole pine. Some smaller stands of lodgepole pine will remain for visual breaks that will have grown to be wind resistant. Other remaining conifer stands will have at least 10ft of horizontal spacing between stands of single trees, and 30ft of horizontal spacing between groups of trees. A few small areas in the treatment, called refugia, will be left untreated to serve as heat sinks and habitat for small wildlife. This stand makeup will reduce wildfire intensity in the treatment area.
Treatment Objectives
This project will reduce hazardous fuels and restore a historic, more open forest structure that favors aspen and limber pine in the future. It will also serve as a fuel break to any wildfire approaching the community from bordering national forest to the west of the Crystal Lakes Community. Additionally, this treatment will increase tree vigor through reduced competition and restore forest structural conditions that support characteristic a low - to mixed-severity fire regime increasing the landscape’s resilience to potential future wildfire.
Treatment Prescription
Cut all trees within the boundary that are NOT marked with blue paint
Prioritize lodgepole pine for removal
Do not cut live aspen trees
Do not leave cut material within the roadway
Remove all cut and/or down large sound material from the project area, except for boles lining the trails
Project Timeline: Winter 2026/Spring 2027
Total Acres: 27
Project Collaborators
Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW)
Larimer County Office of Emergency Management
Crystal Lakes Greenspace Committee
Crystal Lakes Water and Sewer
Crystal Lakes Homeowners Association
Funders
U.S. Forest Service - Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG)