Imagine turning a public park into a free-for-all of community plants 鈥� and snacks. Food forests have been likened to , or the blissful sampling in .

It鈥檚 like a community garden on steroids. The concept is pretty simple: planners recreate a forest ecosystem with edible plants and trees in a public space. Then, in a deviation from most community garden models, they open it up and allow people to forage for food for free.

鈥淚t is a forest. It is a park. But it鈥檚 all edible, so the whole community can come in and sit under the apple tree and eat from the apple tree,鈥� said , manager at the .

There are only a few food forests already up and running in the country, with the highest profile projects in and . Planners of a new food forest in the tiny mountain town of Basalt, Colo., hope to join their ranks soon enough.

As with any public project, it has hit a snag. Some residents don鈥檛 want the park surrounded by a fence, a necessary measure to keep hungry deer and wandering bears from gobbling up all the fruits and vegetables, and causing trouble in town in the process. Officials hope to have approval soon.

In the meantime, they are experimenting with the concept now, trying to figure out how to make a publicly-owned food project work.

Basalt鈥檚 food forest is the brainchild of Syson, a plant expert at CRMPI, and the town鈥檚 Parks Department staff. Both groups will pay for and maintain the forest, at least until it鈥檚 up and running and volunteers start lining up for shifts.

Planted on a half-acre plot on the town鈥檚 Ponderosa Park, the forest will mimic a forest ecosystem, with fruit and nut trees, mushrooms, native edibles, a compost pile and a seed-saving garden, meant to stock the .

Basalt serves as a small bedroom community for the affluent ski resort in nearby Aspen. The town鈥檚 horticulturalist Lisa DiNardo says she hopes the food forest can serve as common ground within the community.

鈥淭his is where we need to go,鈥� DiNardo said. 鈥淭his is one way to build bridges in communities is through a food network, a healthy food network.鈥�

That robust network plays into the food forest鈥檚 location, within walking distance to the town鈥檚 elementary, middle and high schools, and across the street from a predominantly Latino trailer park community.

DiNardo says up in the mountains, food security is a huge issue, and that has people thinking about what they eat.

A couple of years ago, a blizzard, and subsequent avalanches, cut off road travel. Produce trucks couldn鈥檛 make it into the isolated mountain towns in this small valley of less than 50,000 residents.

鈥淭here was a big storm. I went into City Market and literally the shelves were empty,鈥� DiNardo said. 鈥淎nd I think that was an impetus for growers to really start thinking about it, you know, 鈥榃hat can we do locally to bridge the gap?鈥欌€�

Once fruit trees begin bearing apples, plums, nectarines and lemons, Syson hopes town residents will take the Garden of Eden mindset on a walk home from the nearby bus stop and pick what they need, leaving some for their neighbors. Compare that to a community garden which gives growers the mindset of personal ownership.

鈥淭he thought in a community garden traditionally is, 鈥楾his is my row, my tomatoes. I tend it. I take care of it. I harvest it. I take it home,鈥� Syson said. 鈥淭his is just everyone鈥檚.鈥�

Another benefit is the ability to save seeds from native plants and regrow them. Several years from now, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots will be regionally adapted to Basalt鈥檚 short growing season and alkaline soil, Syson said.

The forest represents a shift in the way towns and cities think about their public spaces, not just in Basalt but across the country. But it鈥檚 still an experiment.

鈥淭rees take a long a time to establish and get both looking nice and producing food,鈥� said , an agricultural economist at Colorado State University who studies local food systems.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e taking a different tact and not having individual owners, but seeing it truly as a community asset to share, similar to a parks system or a trail system or streets and roads,鈥� Thilmany said.

Thilmany says she can鈥檛 help but be cynical about the idea of opening up the forest completely. What happens when someone picks all the apples at once? Or teens trample all the tomato plants?

鈥淚 do think there will be some challenges from people who wonder, 鈥楬ow much of that fruit crop do I own?鈥欌€� Thilmany said.

The forest鈥檚 main proponent, Stephanie Syson, says she鈥檚 not worried about the park being overrun by ambitious harvesters. The park will be open 24-7, but Basalt is a small town, and people in small towns talk.

鈥淭he more open we are, we can kinda combat the one or two people that might have some malicious intent,鈥� Syson said. 鈥淚t just won鈥檛 be cool. And if it鈥檚 not cool, they probably won鈥檛 do it. It鈥檒l be cool to come here and eat.鈥�

Plus, Syson says, the trees won鈥檛 be bearing fruit for a couple of years. Plenty of time to educate scofflaws about how this food forest actually works.

鈥淟ike everything else, it鈥檚 an evolving model,鈥� Syson said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l take it one year at a time and see how it works and adapt if we need to.鈥�

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to clarify the status of the Basalt Food Forest as near approval.