Red Feather area sort yard will open in September

By Stephen Clearheart Johnson
North Forty News

Larimer County Forester David Lentz has announced plans to open a sort yard on the Creedmore Lakes Road on Saturdays during September and October.

The purpose of the site, Lentz said, is to collect logs from trees freshly attacked by Mountain Pine Beetle and transport them out of the area before the beetles can fly again to infest new trees.

Property owners can dispose of infested logs without cost by delivering them to the sort yard. Logs meeting specifications qualify for a payment of $15 per cord. Minimum specifications are logs 8 feet 3 inches long with a diameter of 3.5 inches. These can be used for posts and poles.

Limbs must be cut flush with the bark, ends squared and no chainsaw cuts or nicks on the stem. Longer and larger pieces are preferred, but Lentz said, "If you bring me 4-foot logs I won't turn you away."

Property owners with large quantities of logs, seven cords or more, can contact Lentz to arrange curbside pickup.

Funded by a grant from the Peak-to-Peak program, sponsored by the Colorado State Forest Service, the yard will sort logs to different grades and move them on to end-users on the plains at no cost. One purpose of the Peak-to-Peak program is to help develop a market for this unique renewable energy resource.

"There is not really a market for the 8-foot ponderosa log," Lentz explained.

Some of the logs are used for posts, some are turned into animal bedding and some are used for paneling or furniture.

The sort yard will not accept slash, unlike the Meeker Park site, which has an air-curtain burner. Property owners, Lentz advised, should have the slash chipped back onto the forest floor or move their slash to a community slash pile where it can be burned. "Larimer County doesn't have the money to deal with slash," Lentz said.

Lentz has budgeted $22,000 for the Red Feather site this year and hopes to process 40 cords or more. The site will be located north of the elementary school and will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Lentz said he hopes to open the site again next year from April to early July.

The Larimer County/Peak to Peak wood collection site at Stove Prairie closed on July 11 and is expected to reopen in spring