The Magic of Forest Health
By: The Estes Valley Watershed Coalition
Welcome back to Part 3 of our 4-part series on the fascinating dynamics of forests and fires in the Estes Valley!
In our first article, we highlighted why the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition (EVWC) invests in forest health, a key strategy to support our watersheds. But what’s the magic behind this connection? It turns out healthy forests provide an astonishing number of direct benefits for our water systems. As snowpack melts and flows into river basins, the benefits that forests offer to our communities and economies are extensive. Here are just a few:
Soil stabilization, erosion prevention, and water flow regulation: Forests act as nature's engineers, keeping soil in place and ensuring a steady flow of water.
Absorbing pollutants and filtering sediment: Like a natural filtration system, forests help keep our water clean.
Storing water in the soil like a sponge: This helps recharge aquifers, maintaining groundwater levels.
Slowing and dispersing rainfall under forest canopies: This reduces runoff and intercepts evaporation.
Keeping water cooler: Cooler water temperatures benefit aquatic species and promote biodiversity.
Forest health treatments such as thinning and prescribed fire can actually modify fire behavior (Read more about this here). Because there is less fuel, fires are low or moderate intensity with less soil and tree damage. A forest that has experienced this type of fire is still largely intact with surviving trees and stable, water-repellent (“hydrophobic”) soil. An intact forest reduces erosion and degradation after a fire, allowing for rapid recovery. When forests aren’t managed with treatments, they burn hotter and are more destructive - killing more trees and destabilizing soil. With a large-scale and high-intensity fire, there is no remaining forest structure to prevent erosion, ash, and other chemicals running through streams and reservoirs resulting in fish die-offs, and contaminated drinking water.
We are grateful for the vital support of Northern Water, a water conservancy district that has a deep appreciation of the vital connection between healthy forests and water. Created in 1937, Northern Water jointly operates and maintains the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) Project along with the US Bureau of Reclamation. The C-BT project brings supplemental water from the west side of the Continental Divide to the east side, serving over a million residents in eight northeastern Colorado counties. Taking care of our forests by utilizing different treatment methods helps to keep our water safe and healthy for both people and wildlife.
Learn more about the incredible intersections of forest health and water management:
A view of Marys Lake from a project site.