3D: Cone Collection for Post Wildfire Reforestation: A Community Effort

Monday, September 30, 2024, 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM

Over the last 20 or so years, land managers in the Front Range have garnered a lot of buy-in for forest thinning projects in support of wildfire mitigation. However, we do not currently have a wealth of resources focused on land restoration following high-intensity burns where the seed sources have died. New data (Bolinger et al, 2023) suggests there will be a 100-500% increase in wildfire by 2050. Many properties are converted after a fire from forests or woodlands to grasslands with the changing climate regime. Some do not regrow at all. With some pre-planning and seed collection efforts, we could help slow that conversion. Seed collection builds resilience to future expected disturbances. Front Range communities can collaborate to create a shareable seed bank to allow us to respond rather than react to wildfire. We are in the process of creating that collaboration.