As the autumn leaves bid us goodbye, Boulder County wraps up its free forestry service for the year. The Meeker Park and Nederland Community Forestry Sort Yards are ringing in their seasonal closure, signaling a pause in the complimentary deforestation debris management for residents. These community bastions for managing log, slash, and forest flotsam have been actively preventing wildfire risk while helping maintain a clean and healthy forest ecosystem.
According to Boulder County, the Meeker Park yard has already shut its gates on November 2. The Nederland yard, however, will follow suit after November 16. Located at 8200 Hwy 7 in Allenspark, Meeker Park's yard has been serving Boulder County residents dutiful before closing, while its counterpart at 291 Ridge Road in Nederland will keep the door open for forest detritus until 5 p.m. on its final day.
The program has proven to be an essential community resource, offering residents a disposal haven for a variety of woody materials, ranging from thick logs to thin, pesky pine needles. The service not only aids in reducing potential fire fuel but also encourages property owners to engage in proactive land management. In preparation for the winter season, when these sorts of yards hibernate, residents are being nudged to do their last-minute clean-up and take advantage of the program's benefits.
The program's hours have been consistently Wednesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., accommodating the influx of materials brought in by the residents of Boulder County. As the Nederland Sort Yard enters its final days of operation for the year, those who have yet to dispose of their yard waste are encouraged to do so before the 5 p.m. cutoff on November 16. Post then, they will have to wait until May 2025, when the yards are scheduled to resume their waste-receiving affairs.
For those needing more information on what materials are accepted and guidelines for disposal, Boulder County provides detailed instructions on its website. This shutdown marks the end of another successful season for the sort yards, having served countless residents by lightening their loads while contributing to a safer and more sustainable environment. Come next spring, the cycle will renew, continuing the community's collective effort to bolster forest health and fire prevention.
