FOREST FIRE MALFEASANCE (Jefferson County, Colorado)
Emails expose a Colorado government coverup of peer-reviewed science and deliberate deception of media and the public to force through taxpayer-funded logging of public lands in the name of “wildfire fuel reduction.”
PDF of FOREST FIRE MALFEASANCE
Hundreds of emails from a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request show indisputable evidence of Jefferson County Colorado Commissioners and Jefferson County Open Space staff colluding with 23 government officials, land management agencies, logging industry trade groups, NGOs, a university, a fire department, and a government-funded “collaborative” on an orchestrated disinformation campaign to push through thousands of acres of controversial “fuel reduction” logging (including clearcutting and removal of trees up to 211 years old) in Colorado public forests.
The unprecedented scale and scope of degradation of biodiverse, carbon-storing forests in Colorado is the result of a concerted effort to intentionally mislead and deceive media and citizens through the bad faith denial, misrepresentation, and/or dismissal of peer-reviewed science (including their own studies) and community concerns—evidence they themselves privately admit to the validity of—while publicly smearing and defaming scientists, science writers, and citizen advocates as disreputable for publishing or quoting from such studies.
The consequences of this government malfeasance are not simply harm to forest ecosystems, watersheds, wildlife populations including endangered species, carbon-storage and sequestration, and recreational opportunities. Ironically, the outcome is a likely increase in community vulnerability to wildfire through widespread tree removal—which dries out and heats up the forest microclimate and opens stands to wind which can rapidly spread flames, potentially overwhelming evacuees and firefighters—while commandeering taxpayer dollars and attention away from the ONLY actions scientifically proven to protect communities: home hardening and defensible space pruning up to 100 feet around structures.
Colluding Entities
Federal Government: U.S. Forest Service Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest, U.S. Forest Service Pike & San Isabel National Forest
State Government: Colorado State Representative Lisa Cutter, Colorado State Forest Service
County Government: Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper, Jefferson County Open Space, Jefferson County Sheriff Department, Jefferson Conservation District, Boulder County Open Space, Chaffee County Open Space, Clear Creek County Open Space, Gilpin County Open Space, Larimer County Open Space
Municipal/Town Government: Denver Mountain Parks
Fire Departments: Evergreen Fire Rescue
Universities: Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University
Industry Trade Groups: Federal Timber Purchasers Committee (FTPC), Colorado Timber Industry Association, Society of American Foresters, Intermountain Forest Association
NGOs: The Nature Conservancy, Ember Alliance, Conifer Area Council
Government Funded Organizations: Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative, Fire Adapted Colorado
Disinformation
Evidence of colluding entities privately acknowledging the abundance of peer-reviewed science contesting the efficacy of “wildfire fuel reduction” while publicly claiming such science either doesn’t exist or is being “misrepresented,” along with other provably false statements to willfully and knowingly deceive the public.
Jefferson County Open Space staff highlighting government funded Colorado Forest Restoration Institute (CFRI) at Colorado State University as a trusted source on “wildfire fuel reduction.”
Quote: “The Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University has an excellent website and I encourage you to take some time and learn about the need for active intervention in conifer forests at this time.”
Email screenshot below:
Email from Colorado Forest Restoration Institute (CFRI) to U.S. Forest Service’s Pike & San Isabel National Forest South Platte Ranger District (currently moving forward with the largest logging project of the century in Colorado), and shared internally by Jefferson County Open Space (carrying out of the most aggressive “fuel reduction” in the western U.S.).
The email privately acknowledges that abundant science contests the efficacy of “wildfire fuel reduction,” and that the agencies “overpromise” results from such cutting, while advising to never admit this to the media or public so as to erode the credibility of independent scientists, ecological advocates, and concerned citizens.
Quote: “There are numerous studies demonstrating both effectiveness and lack of effectiveness of forest density reduction (“forest thinning”) projects on altering fire behavior and effects. Engaging in toe-to-toe trench warfare with competing science papers would result in stalemate – and win for the opponents.”
Quote: “The opponents aren’t necessarily cherry picking the science, they [sic] cherry picking the vague and ill-defined objectives in public forestry agencies’ own project proposed actions and national policies, and then use the available science to bash them based on their own interpretation of the objectives. I’m concerned the Wildfire Crisis Strategy overpromises what forest density redx [reduction] can actually accomplish vis-à-vis the lofty objective of saving homes and communities from catching fire. What additional density redx could have reduced the impacts of the Marshall Fire?”
Quote: “At CFRI, the critique being leveled by Eco-Integrity [Alliance], JMP [John Muir Project] and others have provided a critical learning opportunity and is compelling us to step up our own game to be more precise with the concepts, words, and phrases we use internally, what can and can’t be claimed from forest management in light of the science and in the body of practitioners’ experiential knowledge, and translate this precision into working with our partners to enhance the precision of defining objectives for forest density redx [reduction] projects in the name of “reducing wildfire risk”. We’re also following the same evolving body of science that the opponents are citing to be more realistic about where, why, how, and under what conditions can forest density redx [reduction] be combined with many other activities – strategic fire response, land use planning, wildfire prevention education, infrastructure hardening – to achieve clearly-stated and realistic wildfire risk reduction objectives.”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space disseminating Society of American Foresters’ strategy to oppose forest protection (“proforestation”) and to advocate for more logging on public lands.
Quote: “Hey Team, I wanted to share the below email, and the handout it contains. The proforestation movement that the handout addresses is the same line of thinking as Eco-Integrity Alliance and other ‘alternative environmental movement’ groups we have been encountering lately, so I hope you find this relevant.”
Quote: “SAF [Society of American Foresters] has always educated diverse audiences about the benefits of forest management and the critical work of forestry professionals, but this is the first time we are directly calling out proforestation.”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space staff claiming that dozens of photos of “fuel reduction” at Flying J Ranch Park are somehow a “misrepresentation.”
Quote: “I sure will, and I’ll also update him on the fact that those photos are a misrepresentation of the work that we and DMP did out there.”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space admitting to cutting trees over 100 years old as “thinning” while falsely claiming trees don’t become “old-growth” until 300 years old (definitions of “old-growth” trees vary but can start at 120 years; photos of stumps with clearly visible rings, including in Denver Post, prove Jefferson County has cut trees up to 211 years old).
Quote: “Yes, we are cutting 100+ year old trees at Elk when they contribute to risk of a fire catastrophe or when there are clearly more than Ma Nature would have wanted in a spot. A 100 year old ponderosa pine tree is equivalent to a teenager, and will not begin to develop old-growth characteristics until it is nearly 300 years old.”
Email screenshot below:
Ember Alliance (“works with partners to plan and implement fuels projects and prescribed fire around the country” and receives millions in federal grants for “forestry”) advising Jefferson County Sheriff on ways to manipulate the public and/or shut down/ignore citizen concerns.
Quote: “No one changes their mind based on facts; they change their mind based on emotions.”
Quote: “I’m sure you’ve seen but Boulder is having folks register to speak at the public hearing they are hosting on the CWPP, so they have more control over peoples [sic] time and ability to speak, which is smart.”
Quote: “Second, not everything needs a response. This may seem obvious, but consider whether a response would be beneficial/educational to this person or others, or if it would just inflame the situation.”
Email screenshots below:
Aide of Colorado State Senator and “fuel reduction” supporter Lisa Cutter doubting the validity of photographs of trees up to 129 years old cut by Jefferson County Open Space.
Quote: “I’m state Senator Cutter’s aide and I had a meeting with some concerned constituents today and I would appreciate some help in addressing their concerns. They told me that Elk Meadow is a JCOS property that is having fire mitigation done on it, but the company hired to do so is mostly cutting down 100+ year old trees and that the company is going to be selling that wood for a profit. Now this doesn’t sound like an accurate description of what is happening to me, but I could be wrong.”
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County Open Space privately discussing costs of “logs that we cut” yet keeping this information from ecological advocates when requested. (The County denies they are “logging” and falsely claims anyone who uses the dictionary definition of the term—“the activity of cutting down trees in order to use their wood”—to be peddling “misinformation.”)
Quote: “Attached is the quote from P&A for 19.08 acres of treatment for a total of $47,600. The second attachment is an invoice for $2k for hauling logs off site that were not sold during the public firewood sales; these were logs that we cut internally and not by P&A.”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space expressing dismay over a meeting for members of the public concerned about forest cutting, incorrectly insisting that “dense” forests are not “healthy,” and falsely claiming a mixed-severity wildfire in Deer Creek resulted in 600 acres “lost” (only 46 acres “severely” burned while high-severity wildfire is an essential component of western forest ecosystems from which it almost always recovers).
Quote: “Yes, our communications team is aware of this. I’m not sure if they plan to send someone to the library for it. It’s sad and such a slap in the face after we just lost 600 acres of untreated forest at Deer Creek Canyon Park.”
Email screenshots below:
In two separate emails using the same exact phrasing, Jefferson County Open Space Director and Community Connections Director claiming post from ecological advocate and award-winning science writer, complete with photographs and quotes from peer reviewed science and from Jefferson County’s “Forest Health Plan,” is “inaccurate or misinterpreted”—without disputing any points—and must be refuted in the media and to elected officials.
Quote: “I think we need to put together some talking points for all of us and the BCC on this. Apparently Josh Schlossberg is active again contacting media and elected officials with inaccurate or misinterpreted information. Let’s tell our good story to set the record straight. Please work together and send me our facts asap.”
Quote: “Apparently, Mr. Schlossberg is active again contacting media and elected officials with inaccurate or misinterpreted information.”
Email screenshots below:
Deceiving Media
Efforts (often successful) to convince Colorado media outlets NOT to report on scientifically-contested and controversial “fuel reduction” on public lands or to only do so from the logging industry/agency perspective.
Colorado Timber Industry Association executive director suggesting to Jefferson County Open Space that media should censor ecological advocates who share photos of “fuel reduction” and quote from peer-reviewed science.
Quote: “So, I just watched a brief local news segment on your project… looks like Josh Schlossberg is involved, spreading misinformation. I am very disappointed in the local news for not vetting him… Anyway, I thought your email response to your constituent was absolutely masterful. Truly. Always here to help.”
Email screenshot below:
U.S. Forest Service spokesperson revealing how the agency deceived CBS News Colorado reporter Logan Smith into not reporting on a press release/blog post from an environmental organization showing photos and video of a previously “thinned” forest burning more severely than the adjacent unlogged forest.
The Forest Service falsely claimed that a figure in a referenced study didn’t show how the forest burned more severely (it did), while denying the existence of hundreds of peer reviewed studies contesting the efficacy of “fuel reduction.” The Forest Service also insinuated wrongdoing regarding an “image” being “altered” when it was simply a figure from the study labeled with text for clarity by Eco-Integrity Alliance, as clearly stated in the press release. Other wrongful assertions are that the photos taken by the organization were somehow invalid because they weren’t connected to any studies (studies the U.S. Forest Service refuses to do, the entire point of the post).
As a result of this easily disproven libel, the reporter never covered the story and ceased all communication with Eco-Integrity Alliance. The U.S. Forest Service has also since deleted the “thinning” unit map from its website, though the PDF and screenshots have been retained and are linked in the blog post.
Quote: “Here is what we responded with related to one of the recent “press releases” shared to media by Eco Integrity Alliance. There’s some great resources linked in here too.
Quote: “The information presented by Eco-Integrity Alliance includes a figure depicting the Cold Springs Fire perimeter and planting area [fireecology.springeropen.com], with captions omitted. The image is also altered, which could lead to false conclusions on why the perimeter exists where it does. The four pictures from the Cold Springs Fire area are not connected to data sources or peer reviewed science. The news release content makes assertions about resulting fire behavior that are not supported by the evidence or scientific literature.”
Email screenshot below:
Email from KDVR reporter Jennifer Brockman asking Jefferson County about press release with photos and quotes from peer reviewed studies contesting the efficacy of “fuel reduction,” Open Space staff sending out an inaccurate “fact sheet” instead of responding to actual points. As a result, the reporter never ended up covering the story and stopped responding to all emails from Eco-Integrity Alliance.
Quote: “While I don’t have any formal response to the insertions found within a recent release from eco- integrityalliance.org. I would be happy to chat. I wanted to share the below link to a factsheet that we published last yr. regarding Elk Meadow Park.”
Email screenshots below:
Targeting Ecological Advocates
Elected officials colluding with government agencies to target ecological advocate and award-winning science writer, Josh Schlossberg, and Eco-Integrity Alliance, the small national grassroots nonprofit where he works as Colorado Advocate.
Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper directing Evergreen Fire Rescue chief to investigate Eco-Integrity Alliance’s funding for unknown reasons.
Quote: “Very good to see you yesterday morning. Some information you asked about yesterday is below.”
Quote: “Look at Ben & Jerry’s site they state that their average grant is $20,000 but not anything specific to this.”
Email screenshots below:
Conifer Area Council President, Shirley Johnson, coordinating with Jefferson County Open Space to prevent Schlossberg from having a speaking slot at a Town Hall Meeting (the speaking slot was never provided).
Quote:“FYI: Josh [Schlossberg] has been relentless about speaking at a Town Hall Meeting. I’ve told him that we already have speakers lined up for the February meeting that relate to the theme for the evening and we will not be talking about wildfire mitigation that night. I also told him there might possibly be a future chance to speak at a meeting.”
Email screenshots below:
Evergreen Fire and Rescue infiltrating Eco-Integrity Alliance email list and forwarding emails to Jefferson County Open Space, while trying to sneak onto private organizing call.
Quote: “Thanks Jess, we will be listening in, Tom Hoby, CPRE Director Jeffco Parks & Conservation Jeffco Open Space”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space staff distributing photo of Josh Schlossberg for unknown reasons.
Quote: “Here’s a photo of him for reference.”
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County planning to confront Eco-Integrity Alliance hike in Open Space park.
Quote: “The Eco-Integrity Alliance hike at ELK this Saturday at 5pm might be a group size that requires a permit. They likely don’t know that we know about this hike and Josh has been very intentionally keeping us out of their discussions.”
Email screenshot below:
Evergreen Fire Rescue alerting Jefferson County Open Space to counteract (not listen to or learn from) public citizens speaking at County Commissioners meetings.
Quote: “I wanted to pass along the email from Jess Moore below. It sounds like there are folks planning on attending the BCC meetings for the month of April to voice their concerns with our forest management work.”
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County Open Space sharing Eco-Integrity Alliance/Green Root Podcast episode about The Nature Conservancy (which takes money from the federal government to promote and carry out public lands “fuel reduction” in Colorado and across the U.S.) with Colorado State University and an email address redacted by Jefferson County.
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County Open Space ranger convinces director that the one staffer who has been polite and honest with members of the public be removed from that role, using the false allegation that communications with Schlossberg have been anything but civil and professional—or even frequent—as an excuse.
Quote: “Steve is amazingly strong and resilient, but I am feeling like we need to relieve him of direct communication with Josh for his own well-being.”
Email screenshots below:
Jefferson County Open Space falsely claiming Josh Schlossberg is the only person critiquing “fuel reduction” logging. (22 Colorado organizations have since signed a letter on the topic, several hundred members of the public signed a petition for Jefferson County, 85 people attended a public forum, State Rep. Tammy Story admits parks are being “devastated,” and informal polling shows that the majority of public lands users who have seen the cutting have concerns.)
Quote: “Hope the team can take all this for what it is worth, which is not much considering it is one person stirring up controversy.”
Email screenshot below:
Defamation
Government agencies launching defamatory personal attacks (slander/libel) against advocates and scientists.
Profane personal attacks against nationally-renowned expert wildfire scientist, Dr. Chad Hanson, who has scores of studies published in peer-reviewed journals and authored and edited books on the subject.
Quote: “I wanted to make sure you were aware of the latest on our forestry in the press. It’s a complex issue, so little surprise that there’s confusion about it. The one thing I’m certain about, however, is that this Chad Hansen [sic] chap from Cali is 100% full of sh–.”
Email screenshot below:
Public Affairs & Communications Supervisor (media spokesperson) for Jefferson County Open Space libeling Josh Schlossberg as a “misinformation troll” for posting photos of “fuel reduction” and quotes from peer-reviewed scientific studies.
Quote: “We have been battling a misinformation troll on Twitter for the last 1.5-2 years, but have had huge success with our outreach and education.”
Email screenshot below:
Denver Mountain Parks Director alleging Dr. Chad Hanson and Josh Schlossberg are “fueling community confusion” by citing peer reviewed studies and having a different opinion than those who take taxpayer money to cut trees.
Quote: “As discussed on Friday, I’m attaching a letter that colleagues on the Pike NF shared with our forester refuting the claims of Dr Chad Hanson that are fueling community confusion, particularly on the part of Josh Schlossberg and his Eco Integrity Alliance.”
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County Open Space singling out and defaming Josh Schlossberg as a “forest health detractor” (ignoring the standing-room only crowd of ~85 people with concerns about “fuel reduction” who attended the public forum referenced in the email, despite a media blackout) and that him quoting from peer reviewed studies which the agency intentionally ignores is “cherry picking” or “disinformation” (without giving any examples or rebuttals).
Quote: “Our team is aware of this. It is being promoted by one very vocal forest health detractor. He is persistent and his opinions are formed by cherry picking from peer reviewed papers, which is resulting in the spread of disinformation.”
Email screenshot below:
Jefferson County Open Space falsely claiming that “every” post from Schlossberg of logging photos and quotes from peer-reviewed studies “mispresents” the facts (while not giving any examples or rebuttal).
Quote: “Every statement that I’ve seen partially or entirely misrepresents the work we are actually doing or the reasons why we are doing it.”
Email screenshot below:
The Colorado Smokescreen 
