Domestic fuelwood utilization and resource management in Colorado

Questionnaires sent to households and fuelwood dealers throughout the state indicated that during the 1979-80 heating season Colorado households burned more than 900,000 cords--making fuelwood the largest market for the state's timber. Demand was greatest in the heavily populated Front Range region where most of the wood was burned in a fireplace. An overwhelming majority of households collected their own fuelwood. Though 70 percent of the forested land is in federal ownership, about half of the fuelwood was obtained from private lands. Fuelwood markets offer opportunities for more intensive forest management.