LARIMER COUNTY - It's a scene that could be a Norman Rockwell painting animated: two young boys, childhood friends, shoot their bows on a blustery spring day surrounded by the maturing fields of small farms.

It's a scene just as antiquated as a Norman Rockwell print, and becoming just as scarce. Whereas the pastimes of the youth in generations past included fishing and hunting, nowadays it has been replaced with video games.

And that concerns the Division of Wildlife. To help combat a disconnect that is growing with today's children and traditional outdoor activities, the department holds several free events every year across the state to help rally interest in such activities as hunting and fishing.

Last Saturday the Outdoor Skills Youth Workshop drew 50 kids and a family member to Lon Hagler State Wildlife Area. It might be only a drop of the total number of kids in the state, but it is a start.

"It affects kids pretty poorly actually, to not be out in nature, to not see birds or hearing the wind or knowing what kind of tree they are near," said Jennifer Churchill of Division of Wildlife. "We know there is a decline in hunting and a little bit in fishing. We know a lot of kids are spending time inside and playing video games. We really want to encourage kids to get out and see what can be done in Colorado."

Richard Louv wrote a book in 2005 entitled, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder". In the book Louv explores how enjoying the outdoors reduces loneliness, depression and attention problems in children.

For Dale Meyer of Greeley, going hunting and fishing is just something kids do. Meyer attended the workshop with his 10-year-old son Ross - the second straight year they came. Once school gets out for the summer, the pair will be found at local lakes like Boyd Lake or Horsetooth Reservoir fishing.

"We look forward to this function every year," Meyer said. "It's just great what Division of Wildlife is doing for kids with this.'

Connecting kids with nature is not only an endeavor for the present, but for the future as well. Developing and cultivating a positive relationship at a younger age means that children will be more active in the preservation of these wild spaces when they become adults.

"It's a big drive for us we want people to connect with nature," Churchill said. "Because the only way you're going to care about it and preserve wildlife in Colorado is to get out and experience it."

A number of DOW workers volunteered time, as did ordinary people who themselves had such a relationship propagated when they were young. John Williams of Loveland, and a member of Big Thompson Bowhunters - a Loveland-based archery club, donated his Saturday to set up an archery course the club supervises at the area. Williams, a father of three kids himself, gets almost as excited as the kids do when they first pick up a bow.

"A lot of these kids have never shot a bow before and they are a little timid when they get out here, a little scared," Thompson said. "After they fire a few arrows, the get a big smile on their faces. Some of them we can't run out of here."

After the initial cost for equipment, many groups and organizations make it easy and cost-effective for kids to be involved. Thompson said the shooting range is free for people to use. It is free for children under the age of 16 to fish in the state of Colorado, and the group has a free fishing weekend on June 7-8 for families.

* For more information about archery, visit the Fort Collins Archery Association web site at: www.ftcollinsarchery.com
* For more information about the Division of Wildlife's youth programs, visit their web site at wildlife.state.co.us

Last September, Clint Kyhl of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest gave a presentation on the effects of the pine bark beetle in his neck of the woods during a regional workshop. On a giant screen, a 1997 map of the state - with U.S. Forest Service land demarked in green - showed a few blips of red designating where the match-head sized bug was killing swaths of lodgepole pine.
The procession of maps through the years ended with 2007 showing most of the forest aflame. Prognosticators paint a grim diagnosis for the forests, stating all mature lodgepole pines could become fodder for the beetle before the infestation subsides.

USFS officials survey the damage done by the beetle infestation.

In Boulder County, pine beetle activity is up 1500% and there is a 800% increase in Larimer County. At the end of 2006, Chambers said there was 1 million acres affected. That figure jumped to 1.5 million at the end of last year.
The epidemic means more than losing much of the beautiful scenery of the Rocky Mountains. It means loss of habitat for wildlife, increased fire danger, more hazards of falling trees and a loss of revenue for towns, which are gateways to these wild places.
The answer to how the problem grew to this magnitude is a complicated one. Part of it is in the not-so-distant past. Mary Ann Chambers of the U.S. Forest Service explained during the Colorado gold rush in the late 1800s, there were a couple of devastating wildfires - imagine larger than the Hayman Fire in scope.
"The lodgepoles, they are very straight and very uniform," Chambers said. "They got nailed by the miners and settlers. They are a type of tree that when it does burn, it burns in a very large area."
The forest of course grew back and now there are large stands of 100-150 year-old lodgepole pines dominating the landscape. Pine beetles found an awaiting buffet with the mature trees and did not suffer from the natural buffers which curbed their numbers in the past.
"We had 11 years of really warm winters with no temps below -40, which would kill the bugs if we had it for 10 consecutive days," Chambers said. "It's the perfect bug food and bug conditions and they are not getting killed off in the winter."



Willow Creek Pass shows the damage done by the beetles.

The Forest Service is not hoping to stifle the onslaught but to mitigate the danger it might pose to the public and protect high-congested areas, such as campgrounds.
Select trees are being sprayed around campsites, and it is a time-consuming and costly effort. Kyhl estimates the Forest Service is spending $130,000 in the state. That breaks down to $10-15 per tree for the spraying.
"And you're looking at 30,000 trees or more in a campground," he said. "You can't get all of them so you have to be selective."
There are over 20 National Forest developed campgrounds in the state which will be partially or completely closed because of the concern of falling trees. A number will also be delayed in opening.

Campgrounds closed
The following is a list of U.S. Forest Service campgrounds which are completely or partially closed. To check the status of any campground, visit www.fs.fed.us/r2/recreation/camping/campgroundlist

Arapahoe - Roosevelt National Forest
Sulfur District
Green Ridge

Medicine Bow - Routt National Forest
Brush Creek / Hayden District
Ryan Park
South Brush Creek
Silver Lake
Hog Park
Lake View

Hahns District
Hahns Peak Lake
Seedhouse
Granite
Ferndale

Parks District
Big Creek Lakes
Teal Lake
Pines

White River National Forest
Dillon District
Lowry
Prospector
Blue River

Eagle / Holy Cross District
East Fork at Camp Hale