A standing room only crowd of around eighty local residents attended the “Save JeffCo Parks!” public forum at Evergreen Library on Thursday evening to oppose the aggressive logging decimating Jefferson County Open Space Parks.

Video of audience segment and presentations.

The forum, co-organized by four Evergreen residents and one former resident, featured three short talks followed by an hour of public comment on the impacts of controversial “wildfire fuel reduction” logging by Jefferson County, whose “Forest Health” plan claims it’s “feasible” to cut over 40,000 acres across thirty-two parks at an average cost of $5,900 an acre.

Citizen concerns during the public forum ranged from ecological harm, to loss of recreational opportunities, to cutting of Native American “prayer trees,” to increased risk of fire as the result of tree cutting, to the need for more taxpayer funding for home hardening, to the abandonment of participatory democracy by County Commissioners Dahlkemper, Kerr, and Kraft-Tharp, to an almost complete lack of media coverage on the topic (no journalists attended the forum, despite press releases sent to every local outlet).

Darrell Luebbe, former volunteer Park Patroller for Jefferson County Open Space, offered a passionate account of how important the parks have been to his recovery from a major heart attack, and the sadness and anger he feels watching the ongoing destruction of his favorite places, many of which he no longer visits.  

Dr. JoAnn Hackos, with Evergreen Audubon, spoke about the impacts of “fuel reduction logging” on bird habitat, foraging, and nesting, voicing concerns about a decline in local populations.

Josh Schlossberg, Colorado organizer for Eco-Integrity Alliance, gave a slideshow presentation featuring photos of the “fuel reduction”—which involves clearcutting and cutting old growth trees up to 211 years—along with proof that Jefferson County intentionally sidestepped public input while planning the logging. He also shared dozens of peer reviewed scientific studies evidencing that the county’s “wildfire pretense logging” not only doesn’t protect communities but can make fires burn hotter and spread faster by opening forests to sunlight and wind.

Despite being invited, no Jefferson County Commissioners or office staff were present. Three members of Jefferson County Open Space did attend, some of whom appeared to be taking notes. 

State Rep. Tammy Story, who is up for re-election in November, made a statement during the public forum portion saying, “I feel very much the way many of you do as well, that the parks are being devastated, that the action that’s being taken is not to the benefit of the forest, it’s not to the benefit of the wildlife, it’s not to the benefit of our water resources, and that it’s highly detrimental.”

More info about the unprecedented scale of logging set to decimate Colorado public forests and the West under the pretense of wildfire (largely unreported in the media), along with the science and citizen voices contesting this dangerous and destructive scheme, can be found at ColoradoSmokescreen.org.