Forests Without Fire

Forests Without Fire (HMUWC)

Location: Cascade-Chipita Park, CO 80809 El Paso County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 54.034', W 104° 59.495'

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Inscription
Without fires, forests grow dense with trees that compete for nutrients, sunlight and space. Competition and stress leave forests susceptible to disease, insects and fire. Many plants on the forest floor die competing for nutrients adding to the fallen trees and the buildup of burnable "fuels".

The United States Forest Service performs "prescribed fires to clean up the forest floor and create habitat for wildlife. Small fires are like nature's broom, sweeping up the buildup of dead plants on the forest floor and cleaning out the insects and disease. As the smoke clears grasses, shrubs and wildflowers are born in the ashes of the newly enriched soil attracting deer, elk and bighorn sheep. Aspen trees are the first trees to spring back after a fire providing homes for many birds and animals.

Tale of Two Forests:
Notice the difference between the types of trees on either side of the highway. Throughout Colorado, altitude, rain, snow and the amount of sunlight determine where each plant grows adapting to the conditions where they best survive.

Ponderosa Pine Forest:
Grow on sun-dried south-facing slopes.Have adapted to surviving small, warm ground fires every 15 years.Have thick bark to protect them from fire.Vulnerable to attack by the mountain pine beetle.Spruce-Fir ForestGrow on cool, damp shady hillsides on north facing slopes.Rarely burn but when they do, fires are hot and burn the tops of the trees.Vulnerable to attack by the spruce budworm.

Details
HM NumberHMUWC
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Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, September 21st, 2014 at 3:22pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13S E 500729 N 4305742
Decimal Degrees38.90056667, -104.99158333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 54.034', W 104° 59.495'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 54' 2.04" N, 104° 59' 29.70" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)719
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 5250 Pikes Peak Hwy, Cascade-Chipita Park CO 80809, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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