In Colo., rural sprawl stokes concernEffect on wildlife, wildfires is citedFORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The conflicts arising from people's migration further into rural areas have been brought to the forefront by the season's first wildfire.
The Picnic Rock fire, which burned more than 9,000 acres of wildlands and one house in the foothills of the Rockies between March 30 and April 7, was started by a man burning trash on his 35-acre lot in a subdivision. Containment, as is often the case with wildfires, meant sacrificing the forest to protect homes in the area. ''Somewhere in the American Dream, it says we all have a right to a house out in the country where we can relax and enjoy the view," said Elise Jones, executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition. ''But in the process of habitating the landscape, we're contributing to the destruction of the natural beauty that brought us here in the first place." Rural sprawl as a threat to the Western landscape and way of life dominates the political agenda in Colorado and other Western states. Events like the Picnic Rock fire punctuate the need for land-use policies to address those issues. ''Sprawl is a major concern because it is consumptive of all the things we have the least of in the West: water, tax money, clean air, and other environmental resources," said former governor Dick Lamm, who is founding director of the Bighorn Center for Public Policy. Colorado is developing open space at a rate of 10 acres an hour, according to environmentalists who have analyzed federal Department of Agriculture statistics. ''We have to look at the impacts of splitting up the landscape into these bite-size pieces for development," Jones said. By ''bite size," Jones means 35-acre lots, the largest-size parcel that can be developed in Colorado without undergoing planning review. Growing at a rate that is three times the nation's average, Colorado's growth has primarily taken the form of these 35-acre ''ranchettes." In 2000, nearly 2.5 million acres of the state's land was in 1.7- to 40-acre lots, according to David Theobald, a research scientist at Colorado State University's Natural Resource Ecology lab. That number will double by 2030, according to Theobald's projections. Colorado is part of a national trend. Since 1950, there has been a fivefold increase in the area within the contiguous United States that is occupied at these exurban densities, or regions just beyond a city. About 25 percent of the area in the lower 48 states is occupied by these 1.7- to 40-acre parcels. ''There are a lot of factors contributing to the move to these exurban areas," Theobald said. ''Urban blight is causing people to move out of the cities, people are more aware of natural areas, and the Internet allows people to work from more remote locations. ''Exurban development has been rising in popularity for some time, but we're reaching a threshold of concern as we see an increase in the modification of ecological systems," he said. Andrew Hansen, professor of ecology at Montana State University, has studied the effects of exurban development on the environment. ''In general, people assume that the fewer the homes, the less impact on the environment," he said. ''But that doesn't always add up because each house has a footprint of impact around it, so houses that are more spaced out are actually having more impact than houses that are clustered together. ''The problem is, everybody wants to be next to a slice of nature," he said. Although 35 acres may seem like plenty of space, ranchettes can be roadblocks in animal migration paths. ''The mid-elevations from 6,000 to 8,500 feet that are the most popular places for people to put their homes are also prime habitat for wildlife," said Todd Malmsbury, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. ''Oftentimes, people are putting structures right in the middle of migration paths, grazing areas, or breeding areas." Animals can adapt their behavior to humans in populated areas, Malmsbury said. ''Take, for example, when people let their pets run loose," he said. ''Mountain lions, coyotes, and other predators have learned that these pets made an easy food source, so they start hanging around residential areas." Larimer County is leading the reexamination of the 35-acre parceling of rural land. ''What we know is that 35 acres is not the best use of land," said Jim Reidhead, director of Larimer County's Rural Land Use Center. ''Like they say, it's too small to ranch and too big to mow." The center, founded seven years ago after a task force looked into the issue, allows landowners to develop lots smaller than 35 acres without review if they cluster homes together. ''As rugged as the land seems here, it is actually very fragile," Reidhead said. ''We're trying to allow development in a way that makes the best use of land and has the lowest impact." During fire season, the focus turns to the impact of people living in the ''interface areas" where fire danger is high. There are about a million acres of this ''Red Zone" in Colorado, and roughly a half-million people living in it, according to state forester Jim Hubbard. ''Because our first priority is saving property, we have to fight fires much differently in populated areas," Hubbard said. ''Our response must be much more intensive and quick, and therefore more expensive." The Picnic Rock fire cost an estimated $2.8 million to fight. In some cases, fires wouldn't be extinguished at all if it weren't for the need to save property. ''Fire is not only natural, it's essential to the health of an ecosystem," said Bob Sturtevant, who has been with the State Forest Service for 25 years. ''Now we can't just let nature run its course because there are houses in those areas." Years of fire suppression have left the woods full of fuel, foresters say. Because prescribed burns are too dangerous for populated areas, the forest service urges landowners to clear their property of dead trees, low overhanging branches near their homes, and other dangers. Jerry and Joanna Ellinghuysen have taken these recommendations to heart since purchasing 40 acres of forested land on a ridge just west of Fort Collins. Before they begin construction of their home, they are clearing out dead wood that could serve as fuel, as well as thinning standing trees. They are doing the work themselves, cutting down trees with a two-man saw at the rate of two trees a day.
''We move up here to enjoy the beauty around us," Joanna said. ''Rather than take away from that beauty, we want to add to it by making the forest around us healthier." © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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