Colorado Statewide Forest Resource Assessment

Owner Low Moderate High Very High TotalUSFS 5,018,750 1,280,214 1,669,719 1,862,398 9,831,081BLM 2,356,340 354,645 336,323 557,934 3,605,242NPS 184,814 39,770 50,367 48,399 323,351USFWS 1,464 391 691 830 3,376DOD 31,073 2,416 2,309 1,388 37,186Federal-Other 3,332 262 194 137 3,925State 312,388 40,001 35,561 33,081 421,031Tribal 284,263 27,218 16,190 10,149 337,821Local Govt. 80,138 12,260 9,855 8,658 110,910Private 3,960,880 471,950 406,725 456,325 5,295,880Total 12,233,441 2,229,127 2,527,936 2,979,301 19,969,804Table 10b – Insect and Disease Mitigation Potential by Forest Ownership/Management (acres)Data Gaps• Need more consistent stand-level data for forest conditions on stateand private land so that a more meaningful analysis of forest healthacross ownerships can be conducted.• Need repeatable annual data on insect and disease activity that isconsistent across the state. Because the current aerial survey isconducted by different individuals and on different portions of the stateeach year, its results are subjective and sometimes diffi cult to interpretregarding the nature and extent of identifi ed activity.Noxious Weeds Overview: Non-native, invasive plant species pose a threat tovirtually all of the nation’s natural systems, including forests and woodlands. 32They have been characterized as a “catastrophic wildfi re in slow motion”(USFS 2004). Global trade and transportation have increased opportunitiesfor non-native plants to cross geographic boundaries as never before. Oncepresent in the landscape, non-native species often are able to out-competenative species because no natural controls exist to keep them in check. Thisis especially true when ecosystem health already is stressed by such factorsas drought, fi re, pollution, resource overutilization or other disturbances.In addition to causing massive ecological disruption and reducing nativebiodiversity, invasive plants also can negatively impact human health, foodproduction, recreational opportunities and economic sustainability. Invasivespecies, including plants, already have cost the U.S. economy $97 billion andhave contributed to the decline of 42 percent of the nation’s threatened andendangered species (Stein and Flack 1996).Although Colorado is relatively weed-free compared to some other westernstates, several non-native plant species designated as noxious weeds 33 areassociated with the state’s forests and woodlands. Among these species aremeadow knapweed, myrtle spurge and yellow starthistle, for which eradication32A species is considered invasive if it is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration, and if its introductioncauses or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm and/or harm to human health (USFS 2004).33“Noxious weed” is a legally defined term that refers to a specific plant species that has been designated formandatory control by branches of local, state or federal government due to the harm, actual or potential, that thespecies is capable of inflicting upon the resources and values of society (Uhing 2009).35