History

The Forest Health Task Force was organized in response to the mountain pine beetle outbreak. Most citizens and stakeholders had never experienced an event so sudden, with such dramatic impact on the visual quality of our Summit County forest landscape. “Overnight” what had been a carpet of green forest turned red, and not long after that, what was red turned dead. We as a Community wanted something done to mitigate what was perceived as the “imminent destruction” of our forests.

The mountain pine beetle outbreak eventually subsided and our forests survived, albeit in a different and evolving form. Our organization has continued and evolved as well. Since inception we have held hundreds of public meetings allowing stakeholders to learn, discuss, and take direct action on local forest issues. We have performed multiple forest restoration projects, and created volunteer opportunities for forest monitoring and ecologic enhancement. Perhaps our most important function is to educate, discuss and achieve Community consensus and vision for long-term management of our local forests under changing climate, ecological and social conditions.