S1E19: 1.19 - Spanish Peaks Habitat Work and Forest Restoration - Aug. 30, 2021

Besides managing wildlife, overseeing hunting and fishing and
providing recreational opportunities in 42 state parks and 350
state wildlife areas, Colorado Parks and Wildlife also provides
habitat for animals.





If a forest is too dense, animals can’t move freely through it.
Sunlight won’t reach the forest floor and grasses, forbs and
shrubs won’t grow to provide food for wildlife. And a dense
forest is at risk to a wildfire that burns intensely and moves
rapidly through treetops that overlap.





The job of creating healthy forests and improving habitat falls
to wildlife technicians and specialists like Casey Cooley, forest
habitat coordinator for CPW, and Mike Smith, wildlife technician
at the Spanish Peaks State Wildlife Area near Trinidad.





They are joining us today for this podcast because they just
finished an exciting habitat improvement project at the Spanish
Peaks State Wildlife Area 25 miles northwest of Trinidad.