The Blue Mountain Forest Stewardship Initiative (FSI) fosters community collaboration through land stewardship, forest health and fire mitigation efforts.
Neighbors helping neighbors for the benefit of all.
Events are are community funded through donations to the FSI. Residents are asked to pay for services received by making a donation.
Our Events & Projects.Â
FSI Community Brunch
Saturday May 10, 2025
10am - 1pm
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Each spring, we gather together at the Rech barn (8856 Blue Mountain Drive) with neighbors to catch up, meet new Blue Mountain residents, and learn about the season's key focus areas and planned events. What to expect:
Brunch (provided by the FSI)
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​Agenda Topics
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Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)
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2025 Blue Mountain Mitigation Goals to Support CWPP
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Insurance Trends in 80403: insurer risk assessment tools, obtaining and maintaining policies, the importance of continued FireWise USA status
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Bugs and Crud and Proactive Pine and Bark Beetle Management
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A Look at the 2025 Season
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Raffle tickets for prize drawings ($5 per ticket/5 for $20). Remember to bring your cash.
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Please RSVP by May 6th so that we can plan accordingly!
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Slash Event - 8:00am to noon
Saturday June 7, 2025
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Time to start planning your fuels mitigation efforts leading up to the FSI Community Slash Event. Remember that June 15 to early September are the annual hatching time for Mountain Pine Beetles. Tree trimming/felling is discouraged during this period unless prompt removal of the slash from the valley is assured. Ips Beetles hatch every 5 weeks or so.
Red Turpentine Beetles and Douglas Fir Pole Beetles are endemic in our forest as well. Fresh cut timber and slash emit tempting odors which attract beetles. To avoid "calling" the pests, plan your tree dropping and/or trimming so the slash doesn't lay on the ground for more than a couple of weeks prior to the FSI Slash event. Cutting up to one month prior to our events would be optimal. If you are planning large scale thinning, we can help you with project planning, sawyer/vendor recommendations and put your property on our list for FSI volunteers to load and haul your slash at one of our twice yearly community slash events.
Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) Training
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Private training sessions for homeowners are offered throughout the season (April - October) upon request. The Home Ignition Zone includes your home and Zones 1 (first 5 feet around home), Zone 2 (5 to 30 feet) and Zone 3 (30 to 100 feet). Residents learn how to give their home a fighting chance to survive a wildfire, by "hardening" their home against an ember storm and completing vegetative fuel mitigation around the structure. Schedule a training for your family and learn to "Think Like an Ember!"
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2025 Available Dates:
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Tuesday May 13
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Saturday May 17
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Tuesday May 20,
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Saturday May 24
Bugs-N-Crud
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The Bugs-N-Crud team is in transition and needs to re-establish its team of volunteer beetle inspections. Please confirm your continued participation with Loretta Simms.
Our forestry consultant, Bruce Benninghoff, has led the training of the team and is commonly and tirelessly on hand to help diagnose sick trees. Look for more detailed information on findings and check out the Education Materials tab for additional information what what the team has found through their site visits to some properties in the community.