Low participation rate threatens future of North Fork Weed Cooperative

The North Fork Weed Cooperative has been an active community-based weed management organization in Northern Larimer County since 1998. Originally focused on lands in the watershed of the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River, it recently expanded to welcome anyone in northern Larimer County with an interest in weed management and land stewardship. However, without increased participation from local landowners, the North Fork Weed Coop may cease to exist.

Ellen Nelson
North Fork Weed Cooperative

Activities of the North Fork Weed Cooperative include weed identification, field tours, weed removal activities, demonstration projects, Management Plan workshops, Pulling for Colorado activities, semi-annual newsletters, educational workshops, community potlucks, speakers for Homeowner Associations, herbicide and reseeding cost share programs.

The coop has presented annual summer Land Stewardship Workshops in Red Feather Lakes, focused on the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic and featuring retired Colorado State Forest entomologist David Leatherman. Other speakers addressed noxious weeds, local wildlife, the effect of beetle kill forests on wildfire behavior and other land stewardship topics.

The North Fork Weed Coop has a long history of promoting stewardship of native plant and animal communities in northern Larimer County. We need the input and participation of interested community members and local land stewards to help us focus our efforts on activities that are relevant and of interest to you and your neighbors.

We need more landowners to become members to organize and participate in activities, to write articles for the newsletter, to join the council, to suggest projects, to volunteer their land for demonstration projects. Without increased interest in and participation from the community, the North Fork Weed Cooperative may be forced to discontinue its activities.

If you feel this organization is valuable to you and the community, please take a moment to complete our survey at http://fluidsurveys.com/surveys/nfwcdlb/nfwcsurvey/
or contact us about participating in the North Fork Weed Cooperative. We value your input and your participation.

To provide more feedback or for more information contact us at [email protected] or visit our website http://northforkweedcoop.org.