Project Profile: Sawmill Forest Management

Sawmill Gulch Project Background

Sawmill Gulch Forest Management is an area of several forest management projects in Clear Creek County south of I-70’s Floyd Hill. This area is prioritized in the Upper Clear Creek Pre-Wildfire Planning Study. Forest management priorities in the study were based on the Colorado State Forest Service database of where forest management activities have occurred in the past. Specific forest management projects listed in the study represent a combination of projects identified in local Community Wildfire Protection Plans and US Forest Service plans.

Sawmill Gulch Road is a critical artery for fire access, making forest fuels management around the road a top priority. Clear Creek County Open Space land in the area is identified as an opportunity for additional recreational development. The Sawmill Gulch area has several historic mule trails in the hills.

The total project area at the Sawmill Gulch Forest Management site is 17 acres in the area of project FM-43 (see map below).

Project Area

Phase 1: Sawmill Gulch Road

•Canopy thinning has started next to the road.

•Firebreak across the ridgeline has been mapped for home protection.

Timeline: Summer 2022

 

Phase 2: CDOT SWEEP on Floyd Hill

The CDOT Stream and Wetland Ecological Enhancement Program (SWEEP) is underway for an I-70 project on Floyd Hill adjacent to Sawmill Gulch. If final SWEEP actions include Sawmill Gulch, it will be contingent upon CDOT performing fire mitigation.

Timeline: Continued thinning Spring 2023.

 

  • The Stream and Wetland Ecological Enhancement Program was established for the I-70 Mountain Corridor to identify and recommend appropriate mitigation