Dear Editor,

I have lived in Eldora for 44 years and feel that Eldora is a very unique place where its residents have worked hard to protect its historical and environmental heritage. Eldora is not Nederland. Eldora is not Boulder. After a meeting hosted by the Boulder Watershed Collective regarding wildfire mitigation in Eldora, the North Fork of Middle Boulder Creek, and on Caribou Flats I have the following thoughts.

I feel that wildfire mitigation should start at home. When you look at cabins in Eldora, most of them are older wooden structures that vary in age from new to over 100 years in age. We can do things to help make our homes more fire resistant, like install metal roofs and fireproof siding. We can upgrade the electrical system and make sure the wood stove is safe. Keeping vegetation near the home like tall grasses and pine needles cleaned up is a necessity. Many cabins in Eldora are on small lots that do not allow thinning for 30 to 100 feet without trespassing on other properties. Some cabins have created fencing made of branches, old logs and wooden slats that, if ignited, will encircle the cabin with flames. Others have flammable trash, including old tires or wood piles stacked near the house.

Nine out of ten wildfires are started by humans. The others are started by lightning when it is usually wet and rainy. Human sources of ignition are cigarettes, children playing with matches, cars with catalytic converters, fireworks, camp fires, chainsaws, welding equipment and ATVs with no spark arresters, and firearms shooting bullets that strike rocks and cause sparks.

In Arizona where the summers are hot and dry, the National Forest is closed to everyone the entire season to prevent wildfires. If we have a hot and dry summer here in Boulder County, the Forest Service should consider closing the National Forest to all users.

As far as the forest goes, yes, someday it will burn. It has been doing that for time immemorial on a regular basis before humans ever walked this planet. The forest has evolved with fire and it is good for the forest in many ways.

But there is a lot of money involved with wildfire mitigation. Millions, billions of dollars come from the federal government incentivizing the Forest Service and local fire departments to cut down forests in the name of wildfire mitigation. Logging companies love the scenario. Thinning forests opens them up to intense solar radiation, drying out the remaining forest and soil and opening them to wind movement. This all makes them much more flammable and contributes to global warming.

On the other hand, a natural forest is dense and shaded, retaining moisture in the soil and vegetation. The forests in our valley create a windbreak from the fierce winds of winter to the benefit of people and wildlife alike. After a forest fire, the Forest Service hires logging companies to come in and take away burned snags and fallen logs, leaving nothing for birds and wildlife to use for cover. Woodpeckers love dead snags for drilling nest sites and other birds use these holes in dead wood, too.

Finally, I would say, are not this beautiful valley and surrounding mountainsides from the Arapaho Ranch through the Town of Eldora and on up the North Fork of Middle Boulder Creek to the Indian Peaks Wilderness worth protecting from intrusive logging operations? And for those who fear wildfire so much that they are willing to destroy the natural ecosystem in this area, I say, perhaps this is not the place for you to live.

Diane Brown

Eldora