The RMRI leadership and partnership meeting held in the Upper South Platte landscape Sept. 26-27 brought together various partners from across the state. Discussions centered on the vital role prescribed fire plays in landscape management. Following the meeting, partners conducted a field tour to three sites where conservation work had occurred over the past year.

Touring the Upper South Platte landscape revealed the distinct challenges that RMRI partners work with every day. As part of the U.S. Forest Service's Colorado Front Range Landscape and one of 10 initial landscapes within the Wildfire Crisis Strategy, the Upper South Platte region plays a pivotal role in ongoing efforts.

On Sept. 27, RMRI partners took to the field to tour conservation project sites on the Upper South Platte Landscape and discuss accomplishments.

• Alderfer/Three Sisters Park – Jefferson County Open Space, a partner of RMRI, led this initiative, which involves ongoing forest health treatments across approximately 240 acres of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forest within the park.

• Sand Springs Prescribed Fire – The U.S. Forest Service South Platte Ranger District successfully carried out an unprecedented prescribed burn operation along the Colorado Trail within the Pike National Forest. The project encompassed a controlled burn spanning 250 acres.

• Private Property – In regions such as the Pleasant Park Corridor in Colorado, completing treatments on private lands and establishing defensible space within these communities holds paramount importance. The challenging aspect in this area arises from limited evacuation routes, making it essential to proactively mitigate fire risks.