A forest health project is being launched by Summit County, the town of Breckenridge and the Nature Conservancy in Colorado. The goals are to protect neighborhoods from wildfires and increase tree diversity in the surrounding forest. The three parties involved are testing the ability of aspen trees to act as wildfire fuel breaks at the Barney Ford open space site.

As “community protection zones” are cleared between homes and the forest, aspens are proposed to be planted in these areas because they have a higher moisture content than conifer trees, according to a news release.

Aspen seedlings will be planted at the Barney Ford site and monitored in coming years. The first aspen tree planting event will take place Wednesday, Sept. 30, weather permitting. The project is funded through Vail Resorts’ 1% for the Forests initiative and has received in-kind support from Summit County Open Space & Trails and town of Breckenridge Open Space.