An official website of

Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network

The purpose of this network is to benefit and support place-based forest collaboratives in Colorado by connecting them to information, resources, and each other, and by telling their stories to make their value and needs understood.

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What is the Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network (CFCN)?

For years, collaborative leaders and partners have convened in an annual Forest Collaboratives Summit to share updates, build relationships, and learn from one another. Participants agreed that these meetings were beneficial, but there was little capacity for follow-up or ongoing engagement. Hearing the need for more consistent networking amongst forest collaboratives, the Center for Collaborative Conservation conducted a Situation Assessment in 2020 to explore the need and desire for a statewide Forest Collaboratives Network. In short, the assessment found that there was a strong need and interest in such a network.

We hired Katie McGrath Novak to serve as a coordinator and launched the CFCN in January 2022, with three years’ worth of generous funding from Great Outdoors Colorado, Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, and Argosy Foundation. In year one of the Network, we met inspiring leaders, shared collaboratives’ perspectives at several Forest Health Council meetings, connected in-person with 50+ collaboratives at four regional forums, and re-commenced the Forest Collaboratives Summit.

We serve place-based forest collaboratives in Colorado.

To see all place-based conservation collaboratives in Colorado on a map (not just forest collaboratives), check out the Colorado Atlas of Collaborative Conservation.

Does the Atlas need an update? Fill out this update form to let us know


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Subscribe to the CFCN Newsletter

The best way to keep up with the CFCN is to join our mailing list. We send occasional emails containing news, events, and resources for forest collaboratives and their partners.

You can also view past mailings in our Newsletter Archive.

The Colorado Forest Collaboratives Summit

 

The purpose of the Forest Collaboratives Summit is to connect place-based forest collaboratives from across the state and facilitate learning about issues most relevant to collaboratives.

What Participants thought about the 2023 Forest Collaboratives Summit:

“There’s an inherent and powerful value in coming together. The formation and strength of relationships is indispensable.”

“The level of optimism across the state is fantastic! Everyone seems to be dealing with the same major issues, which means success/lessons can be shared and adapted across the state.”

Tag Us! #CFCsummit

We Want to Hear from You!

Katie McGrath Novak 

Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network Coordinator 

katie.mcgrath@colostate.edu

If you are a member of a collaborative, or are an interested partner with ideas for building further connections, I would love to set up a one-on-one call to get to know you and hear your ideas for the network. I am best reached at my email address. 

“As Coloradoans face increasingly difficult forest health challenges, some of our greatest successes are thanks to [collaborative groups’] dedication, creativity, and ability to bring people together. On behalf of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources – thank you! I am pleased to share my support for the all-new Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network… I hope you will find great value in the CFCN.”
Dan Gibbs
Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources
"Community-based collaboratives are engines for action in Colorado. They bring together diverse values and voices into a common conversation to achieve critical outcomes for their neighbors. Collaborative work across the state is leading to healthier forests and watersheds while growing the number of Colorado’s fire-adapted communities. The Forest Collaboratives Network will build on this history of success in Colorado by ensuring existing and new collaboratives are better positioned for success by sharing working models, building capacity and ensuring that stakeholder driven planning and implementation continues to drive Colorado forward. I look forward to what comes from building together that we could not have built on our own.”
Matt McCombs
State Forester, Colorado State Forest Service

Thank You to the Colorado Forest Collaboratives Network Funders and Supporters

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