Conservation ProjectsCal-Wood's extensive and diverse landscape offer tremendous opportunities for conservation related projects. At Cal-Wood, the integrity of the natural ecosystem is of critical importance and we take our role of stewards of this resource seriously. We have ongoing projects in forestry, weeds, wildlife, water, mapping and others. Groups often commit part of their program time to involvement in service oriented conservation work. Participants find these empowering environmental stewardship efforts serve to achieve their overall programmatic goals, as well as helping Cal-Wood. Additionally, we have ample opportunities for research studies/projects by students in higher education as well as K-12 levels. | |
Cal-Wood has focused considerable attention toward forest stewardship in the last three years. Approximately 900 of Cal-Wood's 1,200 acres are forested and they present a diversity of dynamic conditions, some in urgent need of attention. Thankfully the Colorado State Forest Service has awarded Cal-Wood a total of $41,000 in matching grants since 2002 to monitor and manage our forests as well as prepare an updated Forest Stewardship Plan. [view plan] |  |
| A century or so of fire suppression as well as recent severe drought has taken a toll on the forests of the Colorado Front Range. Many forested areas are extremely dense with young trees as well as dead/dying trees that would have normally been cleared with a low-intensity natural fire. Additionally, parasites such as beetles and especially dwarf mistletoe are spreading and killing trees at an alarming rate. | |
Cal-Wood is carefully planning forest thinning projects that support our goals of maintaining a healthy and diverse forest ecosystem and reducing the threat of wildfire. Obviously the threats from are especially focused on developed areas such as the Lodge, cabins, and residences. Our forest management also mitigates the threat to the mature and old-growth forests of Cal-Wood from burning in a catastrophic, overly intense fire. At the same time, Cal-Wood is exploring effective and safe ways to utilize the important role of fire to the forest through prescribed burns. An important aspect of Cal-Wood's forestry is the utilization of the wood that we cut. Our goal is to always use all the wood we harvest for a variety of uses on the property. Trees logged at Cal-Wood are used for trail and building construction material, firewood (that's how the Lodge is heated!) and wood chips. Wood chips are spread over hardened areas such as activity zones and trails to reduce erosion, mud and dust. |
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| Another major natural resource management endeavor are non-native plant species or more commonly referred to as weeds. Cal-Wood has numerous non-native plant species and some are harmless to the land and do not spread significantly. Others spread very quickly (invasive) and are inedible to native wildlife (noxious). These invasive noxious weeds can severely impact the health of an ecosystem by out-competing native plants and reducing the food source for wildlife such as deer and elk. Prime non-native plant species of concern are canada and bull thistle, common and dalmation toadflax, leafy spurge, and diffuse knapweed. | |
Cal-Wood works closely with Boulder County Parks and Open Space to devise an integrated management approach for reducing the impact of these plants on the ecosystem. We often call on school kids and/or volunteer labor for manual pulling of certain species. Other species are trickier to manually remove and we carefully apply environmentally-sound herbicides as a control method. Another non-native species Cal-Wood pays close attention to is not a plant but a fish. Goldfish were mistakenly introduced into Cal-Wood's upper pond and their population has exploded. We are working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) to find ways to extract the fish. Our netting and seining approach has been fun but not very effective. We plan to electrically shock the pond which stuns, but not kills, the fish and they can then be removed. Goldfish anyone? |
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A study we have conducted for years and that students often participate in is a nest box study. Thirty nest boxes are located around the property to provide homes for cavity nesting birds such as bluebirds, chickadees, sparrows and wrens. Students monitor and maintain the nest boxes throughout the year and are compiling important data concerning the fluctuations in bird populations at Cal-Wood. |
 Photo by Brian Davis |
| Wildlife is a major attraction at Cal-Wood for visitors and staff. Confirmed sightings include mountain lion, black bear, coyote, fox, bobcat, elk, mule deer and countless other smaller species and birds. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of our wildlife watching centers on the elk. Cal-Wood is a critical link in the elk migration corridor between the high country to the west and the plains to the east. During the fall and winter we often see a herd of 100 plus elk but more likely we hear their bugling and vocalizing echo throughout Cal-Wood. Boulder County monitors this herd and we collaborate with them to provide data and reports. We also work with the DOW on a study to assess mule deer patterns and the associated impacts of Chronic Wasting Disease, of which none has been found in the deer at Cal-Wood. | |
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To assist our management and planning efforts Cal-Wood has moved onto the digital era and we now have exceptional quality maps produced with GPS and GIS technology. Here is a sample of the types of maps we are able to produce. Cal-Wood trail map If you would like to get involved in Cal-Wood's conservation projects, contact Shane Milne at shane@calwood.org. |
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