Hydromowing raises local hackles
Increase in thinning projects prompts public concerns

The effects of hydromowing are seen below the lower Hermosa Creek campground, north of Durango, on Monday. The Forest Service has been conducting the forest thinning in the name of protecting against wildfire, but some locals and conservationists say the procedure is heavy handed and may be doing more harm than good./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

by Will Sands

A now common thinning practice is enduring increasing criticism. Area residents and conservationists are raising more and more concerns about the practice known as hydromowing, a process the Forest Service uses to eliminate fire threat in the "urban interface."

The Forest Service is taking three approaches to curbing fire threat around the populated areas of the San Juan National Forest. Along with prescribed burning and hand thinning, the local agency has been using the relatively new practice known as hydromowing. Hydromowing eliminates small trees and brush, particularly pi`F1on, juniper and gambel oak, with a large spinning drum of carbide teeth. According to the agency, the practice provides an economical alternative to hand thinning without the smoke and danger of prescribed burning. Hydromowing has become increasingly common lately, largely because of mandates in the National Fire Plan.

"Because of the push of the National Fire Plan, we are putting a large emphasis on thinning to reduce hazardous fuels in the local wildland urban interface," said Pam Wilson, fire information officer with the San Juan National Forest.

Wilson explained that the local forest is trying to take a comprehensive approach to managing fire threat, particularly after the catastrophic fire season of 2002. "Last year, we developed a 10-year strategy to look at our whole fuels situation," she said. "After the Missionary Ridge Fire, we realized we had to do something."

Part of the action plan has been a relatively heavy regimen of hydromowing often in proximity to residential areas. Already this year, the Forest Service has treated 2,020 acres locally with the technique and plans to mow a total of 9,000 acres that it says are overgrown. "These projects are basically designed to provide a fuel break or reduce the density of trees," Wilson said. "In a lot of cases, we're trying to get these areas back to a more natural state. If you look at historic photographs, there's not nearly as much vegetation."

However, many members of the public contend that hydromowing is anything but natural. Kalida May is one of many local residents who has publicly come out against the practice recently. Pointing to recent work in the vicinity of Hermosa, May said that hydromowing feels more like a violation of the natural state.

"I think the ecosystems are being totally destroyed," she said. "You can't say this is going back to the way it was at the end of the century. The planet is not like it was at the end of the century. We've impacted it greatly."

May added that instead of native vegetation, she sees noxious weeds entering several treated areas. "What I see coming back first is weeds," she said. "When I addressed that with the Forest Service, they say they have an herbicide program, which is heinous. As if we don't have enough chemicals in our environment and already seeping into the watershed."

Going further, May said that the Hermosa project was badly botched by a subcontractor. "Even the Forest Service admitted that Hermosa was done roughly," she said. "You basically had young kids on hydromowers bulldozing the entire area."

Following a Forest Service field trip near the Rockridge subdivision, May concluded that the push for hydromowing goes beyond fire suppression and is more political in nature. "One hand doesn't know what the other one is doing," she said. "The bottom line, as they admitted to us at Rockridge, is money. They admitted that if they don't use their budget allotment, they'll lose it."

This area, below the Hermosa Creek Trailhead, is among the 2,000 acres hydromowed thus far by the Forest Service as part of the National Fire Plan. The Forest Service plans to mow about 9,000 acres this year in the urban-wildland interface around Durango to mitigate the fire threat. However, some residents disagree with the practice, saying the Forest Service is merely taking a "use it or lose it" approach to federal funds./Photo by Todd Newcomer

Following a Forest Service field trip near the Rockridge subdivision, May concluded that the push for hydromowing goes beyond fire suppression and is more political in nature. "One hand doesn't know what the other one is doing," she said. "The bottom line, as they admitted to us at Rockridge, is money. They admitted that if they don't use their budget allotment, they'll lose it."

Mark Pearson, executive director of San Juan Citizens' Alliance, noted that the local conservation group has heard numerous complaints recently about hydromowing. "People are concerned about just how drastic a change they've been seeing in the landscape, and we related that to the Forest Service," he said. "They were sympathetic and said they're learning as they go."

Pearson did note that, for the most part, San Juan Citizens' Alliance approves of the local fire strategy and its focus on the wildland-urban interface. "In general, this is where we think they should focus their efforts," he said. "We're generally in favor of the thrust of their program."

However, like May, Pearson said he is skeptical that hydromowing is actually enhancing the local environment. "The argument is that it is converting the forest back to natural pre-settlement conditions," he said. "I'm a little dubious about those kinds of sweeping generalizations."

Jeff Berman, executive director of Colorado Wild, said that the definition of natural conditions is up in the air with respect to pi`F1on and juniper forests. "Hydromowing is mostly being done in pi`F1on pine and juniper, and there's a dearth of information on the historic range of pi`F1on pine and juniper," he said. "It's hard to say whether hydromowing is a benefit or if it's mowing down stands that should be there."

Berman added that hydromowing projects need to be weighed on a case-by-case basis, and several have even drawn Colorado Wild's endorsement.

"Any particular project's merits depend greatly on how it is implemented," he said. "If a hydromowing project eliminates the vast majority of vegetation, that's probably not beneficial to species. If it's done judiciously and near and upwind of homes, it can provide benefit."

However, Berman also suggested that there is an artificial urgency to the current push of hydromowing.

"We have tremendous amounts of funding coming down through the National Fire Plan which is creating a strong local incentive," he said. "Unfortunately, the Forest Service is often basing its success on the quantity of acres treated rather than the quality of treatment."

The Forest Service agrees that hydromowing is not the perfect fix, according to Wilson. She also said that the agency sympathizes with the public's concern. However, Wilson also asked that people be patient with the projects.

"We're learning that we need to do a better job describing what the project's going to look like when it's done," she said. "It's really difficult when you're doing these projects close to town because people use these areas and are attached to them. We just encourage people to be patient and give us a year and take another look."