Local Nonprofit Launches Initiative to Protect Big Thompson Water Supplies
Local Nonprofit Launches Initiative to Protect Big Thompson Water Supplies
Big Thompson Canyon. Image courtesy of www.allestespark.com
Peaks to People Water Fund have launched its Big Thompson Initiative in Northern Colorado to proactively treat wildfire risk through accelerated forest restoration and stewardship in the watersheds.
The Big Thompson watershed’s water infrastructure supplies between 40 percent and 55 percent of Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley’s annual water needs, providing water to 30 additional towns and cities along the state’s front range. The state’s forests have become dense and overgrown after years of protection from wildfire, which has increased the risk of severe wildfires such as the Cameron Peak Fire that threaten water supplies with sedimentation and debris.
for The Fence Post
Weeds can quickly evolve from a minor nuisance into a major scourge if ignored by farmers and ranchers; whereas proper pasture maintenance ultimately maximizes profits through efficient land management.
After earning a rangeland management degree in December 2015 from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, David Cummings founded his company, Back 40 Land Management, in February 2018. He had long-time personal knowledge of pasturelands and the unwanted vegetation that can creep in.
While at CSU, Cummings simultaneously worked for the Fort Collins Conservation District and Big Thompson Conservation District in Berthoud as a conservation field technician, assisting in area land restoration after the areas’ 2012 and 2013 fires and floods.