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Colorado's forests provide so much: clean water, places to explore, thriving communities, livelihoods, wildlife, and memories we hope to pass on.The new Protect What Matters film tells that story through five Coloradans whose lives are deeply connected to these places. Their reasons for caring are different. That's the point. Watch the film, then tell us: What matters to me is ______. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJEekQQsuk#ProtectWhatMatters National Forest Foundation Forest Trends Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative
Colorado's forests provide so much: clean water, places to explore, thriving communities, livelihoods, wildlife, and memories we hope to pass on.The new Protect What Matters film tells that story through five Coloradans whose lives are deeply connected to these places.Their reasons for caring are different. That's the point. Watch the film, then tell us: What matters to me is _______.#ProtectWhatMatters
www.youtube.com
What do you want to protect?We asked five Coloradans that questio...
What do you want to protect?We asked five Coloradans that question, and their answers were as different as the places they call home: a ranch in Estes Park, a river in Fort Collins, an outdoor classroom, a ski shop in Denver, and the wild spaces around Pikes Peak.Together, their stories show what it looks like to care for the places we love and help them stay strong in the face of wildfire.Protect What Matters is live. We hope you’ll watch the full film at bit.ly/ProtectWhatMatters_Film, then think about your own answer.Made with our partners at the USDA Forest Service, National Forest Foundation, and communities across Colorado’s Front Range.#ProtectWhatMatters
Zach Miller lives at Barr Camp, a cabin at 10,200 feet on Pikes Peak with no road to it. People ask why. Spend a little time there with him and the answer gets pretty obvious.“What matters to me is wild spaces.”Zach is the fifth Coloradan you will meet in Protect What Matters. The film launches tomorrow.What is a place that makes you feel most like yourself?#ProtectWhatMatters
Karla Baise has seen the Poudre run black. She doesn’t want to see it happen again.Karla leads sustainability at Odell Brewing. Her work depends on water, and that water starts upstream in Colorado’s forests.“What matters to me is a clean river forever.”Karla is one of the Coloradans featured in Protect What Matters, our new film about the places people depend on and the work it takes to care for them. It launches October 1.What river, lake, or stretch of water matters most to you?#ProtectWhatMatters
The skis under your feet can start as a tree a few hours from the shop. At Meier Skis, Colorado aspen and beetle-kill pine become skis built for Colorado snow.For Michelle Kidd Eynon, the connection between forests and skiing is not abstract.“What matters to me is the forest. It's really everything to the ski business.”Michelle is one of five Coloradans featured in Protect What Matters. The film launches October 1. Who is on your first-chair crew this winter?#ProtectWhatMatters
In 2020, Rafael Salgado watched roughly half of Cal-Wood Education Center burn — 600 acres of the place where generations of kids had learned to love the outdoors.He’s still here. So are the kids.“What matters to me is teaching the next generation of kids that will protect this land.”Rafael is one of five Coloradans featured in Protect What Matters, a new film about the people and places we want to protect. It launches October 1.Who first taught you to care about the outdoors?#ProtectWhatMatters
Bill Van Horn has been on MacGregor Ranch longer than most of the trees around it. Over the years, he’s watched the landscape change and the forest around the ranch grow thicker.“What matters to me is the natural environment that we have. And hopefully we turn it back better than we found it.”Bill is one of the Coloradans featured in Protect What Matters, our new film about the places people depend on and the work it takes to care for them. It launches October 1.What’s one place that feels like home to you?#ProtectWhatMatters
Quick question, and we mean it: what matters to you about Colorado’s forests?For Karla, it is a clean river. For Bill, it is the town he has lived in his whole life. For Zach, it is wild spaces. There is not a right answer.Finish the sentence in the comments: What matters to me is _____. We are going to build something from your answers!#ProtectWhatMatters
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands. That’s a huge number. In Colorado, it gets personal fast.These lands are connected to the water we drink, the places we spend time outdoors, wildlife habitat and communities across the state. Over the next several weeks, different Coloradans will show us what those connections look like in real life.Protect What Matters launches October 1.#ProtectWhatMatters
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Sep 11, 2026
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Sep 2, 2026
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Jun 17, 2026
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