The Greenbelts

A year ago, March 2022, the Association was successful in acquiring the nearly 800 acres of greenbelts and open spaces in the community after a long and sometimes drawn-out negotiation with Wyndham. The greenbelts were initially platted as open spaces, buffers, and utility corridors in the community by the original developer, Eaton International. Eventually Fairfield Inc. took over ownership of those interests and in the late 1980’s, filed for bankruptcy after an economic downturn. At that point, Wyndham took ownership of a few remaining unsold properties, the timeshare complexes in South Village Lake and the greenbelts and open spaces. It has always been the Association wish to acquire these properties for a number of reasons; primarily to help ensure the well-being of these properties and to protect home and property values within the community.

The previous developers did very little in the way of improvements or up-keep of these properties and as a result many of these open spaces need some overdue maintenance, primarily in the form of reducing wildfire fuels such as oak brush and overly crowded trees. One of the first things that the Association General Manager and staff did was to begin developing a long-range management plan for these open space properties. Utilizing field survey work that was done a few years ago and meeting with local resources like the Pagosa District Ranger staff (US Forest Service), Wildfire Adapted Partnership, and the Pagosa Fire Protection District, a wildfire fuel reduction plan was developed for the greenbelts.

Based on discussions with the Fire District, USFS and Wildfire Adapted Partnership, a 5-year management plan was developed to implement wildfire fuel reduction work in the greenbelts. The early focus will be on areas that are in proximity to higher risk zones, like the National Forest and Martinez Canyon, where larger wildfires could threaten the communities. The 5-year plan describes work to be completed sooner in the Twincreek Village and the Hatcher and Highland Estates subdivisions, followed by work in Martinez Mountain Estates, Vista, and Lake Forest Estates. In years three and four of the plan, thinning work would be done in areas like Pines I and II, Lake Pagosa Park, Lakeview Estates and Lakewood Village. To finish out the plan, other subdivisions would be addressed like Trails and Chris Mt. II.

There also may be some opportunities to work in close cooperation with the Forest Service where a joint project could address thinning work along the National Forest boundary on both sides of the fence. Not all the greenbelts need a whole lot of work, many of them are just buffers with natural grasses and open. Many of the greenbelts are in good to fair condition, but a substantial number of them will need to be addressed in the coming years. Keep in mind that the Forest Service has been working to do heavy wildfire fuel reduction work over the past 20 years in the Turkey Springs area which borders Pagosa Lakes. Fuel reduction projects in Turkey Springs has included prescribed burns, mechanical thinning and hand thinning. The majority of the Turkey Springs area to our immediate west has been treated in one form or another which has helped significantly reduce the threat of major wildfire in the forested zones bordering the community.

Work in Pagosa Lakes was already started in 2022, when two large greenbelts in Twincreek Village and Highland Estates were treated and thinned by a contractor hired by the Association. A grant was obtained through Wildfire Adapted Partnership that paid for 40% of the costs which was a nice savings for the Association. We anticipate that grant and cost assistance funding should be in place over the next few years, and in fact the Association has once again qualified for a grant to help complete work this summer. The Highlands Estates subdivision greenbelts will be completed this year with work in those greenbelts along the National Forest boundary and larger greenbelts on the hillside between Cimarrona Circle and Hills Circle. Additionally, a large greenbelt in Martinez Mt II will be treated this summer, a 40-acre tract that is situated above Mockingbird Dr and Woodland Dr running up a hillside to Cameo Ct and Piedra Road.

All of the work being proposed will generally conform to Colorado State Forest Service standards for Zone II and III where ladder fuels such as oak brush will be reduced, and in some cases, trees will be thinned to achieve more desirable spacing. The goal being to help reduce the threat of dangerous crown fire conditions should a wildfire ever