Map from Summit County government
The Summit County Open Space and Trails department is working with the Colorado State Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to begin its first phase of hazardous fuels reduction in the Settler’s Creek Open Space in Keystone.
The area was selected due to the large quantity of standing beetle-kill pine and the abundance of parasitic dwarf-mistletoe.
Jordan Mead, open space and trails resource specialist with the county, said more than 60% of the treatment area is standing lodgepole pine that was killed by the mountain pine beetle. The area is also in close proximity to homes and infrastructure, such as an Xcel Energy transmission line, making it a high priority in the Summit County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.