#breckenridge #colorado #coloradoliving
To no surprise this journey begins in a frigid pickup truck cab. A respectable snowstorm just enveloped the Roaring Fork Valley earlier this week. There’s snow everywhere.
Sipping warm coffee tumblers near 8 a.m. Thursday morning, U.S. Forest Service members Doug Leyva and David Boyd clunked up Four Mile Road past Sunlight Mountain Resort.
The White River National Forest Supervisors’ Office in Glenwood each year displays a freshly-cut fir in its reception area. Leyva and Boyd were fulfilling this tradition.
“You always have to measure your space before you go out,” Leyva said. “It doesn’t have to be an exact measurement.”
There are of course limits on the size of a tree one can cut. It’s illegal to cut down anything over 15 feet tall. It’s also encouraged to select a fir that’s not standing on its own.
“If you’re gonna go out and cut a tree, look for a group of trees and cut from there,” Leyva said. “If you cut one out of the middle of a group of say, five, then when springtime rolls around, the remaining four will have more resources.
“There’s one less tree to take water and nutrients.”
