Thank you to the U.S. & Colorado State Forest Service for taking a proactive stance to create a buffer zone of defensible space around the Peak 7 residential area on Forest Service land. I commend the project and appreciate that our safety and welfare of our families and our homes, and the safety of our fire fighters taking priority over a few who don't want to see trees being cut out their windows. (They may even notice that we have better views of the beautiful mountains once our dying and dead trees are removed!) Read the complete article: Kathie M. Kralik: Peak 7 Forest Health Plan a positive!

It's not always easy to find fans in the category “things federal agencies do,” but it's hard not to be on board with the recent U.S. Forest Service announcement that hazard-tree removal is moving near the top of their list. Last week, the Forest Service said it will expand a $15 million project to remove beetle-killed trees from in the White River National Forest as well as the Arapaho-Roosevelt and Medicine Bow-Routt forests. Read the complete article: Forest Service on the right track with hazard tree removal

SUMMIT COUNTY - Although they represented scores of groups from around Colorado, the 300-plus people who attended a watershed conference in Breckenridge last week probably all agree on one thing - water quality and quantity will continue to be overriding issues for the state. Read the complete article: Blue River watershed in good shape

SUMMIT COUNTY — About the same time Vail Resorts announced it will partner with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation to tackle a major restoration project in the scarred Hayman fire area, the company's two local resorts started taking steps to address forest health issues on the slopes of their ski mountains. Read the complete article: Resorts Tackle Beetle-Killed Tree Problem