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Tracey Stone
Media Relations
Phone: 602-738-1586
Email: tstone@tnc.org
Colorado’s driest winter on record is forcing conservation groups to rethink how—and when they can restore forest cover in wildfire-affected landscapes damaged by a high severity fire.
For young adults with the Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC), the historic lack of snow didn’t just alter work plans—it transformed what effective land stewardship looks like in a warming, less predictable climate.
This summer, crews assigned to the Cameron Peak Reforestation Project, co-led by the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and other local organizations, scrapped long-standing tree-planting plans when conditions on the ground indicated a high risk of seedling mortality following planting.
“After a historically dry and warm winter, the soil is simply too dry to plant seedlings,” said Megan Maiolo-Heath, Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed Communications & Development Director. “With uncertain precipitation forecasts for the spring and summer, it became clear that tree planting would not be possible this spring. Land managers must adapt as climate conditions continue to change.”
Instead of planting trees on drought-stricken, wildfire-scarred slopes, the conservation corps pivoted to critical stewardship work on TNC preserves across southern Colorado. At Zapata Ranch, crews will use saws and loppers to create defensible space around infrastructure, reducing future wildfire risk (May 4-6). At High Creek Fen Preserve, they will remove more than half a mile of barbed wire and fence posts, reopening migration corridors and restoring habitat connectivity for wildlife (May 7-8).
This change in plans required rapid logistical adjustments. Many LCCC members typically work close to home, supporting conservation projects in their own communities. This new work schedule required traveling nearly five hours from northern Colorado and spending a week working in unfamiliar landscapes—an uncommon but necessary shift under increasingly volatile environmental conditions.
Maelly Oropeza, director of the Larimer County Conservation Corps, said flexibility benefited both the land and the workforce.
“Corps members must complete a 40-hour hands-on project to earn their post-service education award,” Oropeza said. “This solution allowed young adults to gain meaningful field experience while advancing their careers, even when increasingly dry conditions required a shift from the original plans.”
For The Nature Conservancy, the partnership delivered important capacity during a year when climate impacts stretched staff and resources thin.
“Like many conservation organizations, we’re facing real capacity constraints,” said Anya Byers, TNC’s land and water conservation manager. “This collaboration gives corps members valuable experience while helping us care for critical landscapes. It’s a win for everyone—and for the land.”
As Colorado faces longer wildfire seasons, warmer winters, and persistent drought, this winter underscored a hard truth: post-fire reforestation is no longer a guaranteed management option. Reforestation requires months of advance planning, with seeds grown out as seedlings in nurseries for nine months before planting. When weather conditions change, as they did this year, carefully made plans are infeasible by the time planting windows arrive. Increasingly, successful conservation depends not on rigid plans—but on flexibility, partnership, and adapting stewardship strategies to a rapidly changing climate.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 83 countries and territories (39 by direct conservation impact and 44 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. For more news, visit our newsroom or follow The Nature Conservancy on LinkedIn.
Our work in Colorado
What Colorado Trailblazers Teach Us About Wildfire Recovery
Meet our two Phil James Conservation Award winners and discover how they’re restoring Colorado’s ponderosa pine forests.
Turning conservation plans into action
The Nature Conservancy offere new, limited funding for southwest Colorado communities.
Reviving Western Waterways With a Hands-on Approach
Across the western United States, TNC, partners and local communities are restoring wet meadows and riparian corridors in the face of climate change.