Agencies making investments for fire prevention
Two of Colorado’s wildland fire management agencies have announced a new agreement to “proactively confront the wildfire crisis along Colorado’s northern Front Range,” according to a recent release.
As part of the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service’s 10-year strategy aimed at addressing wildfire risk to infrastructure and communities, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland are making a multi-million dollar investment in shared resources with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, according to a release from the Forest Service.
“Through partnerships with agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, we can maximize the use of shared resources to effectively mitigate fire risk,” said Division of Fire Prevention and Control Director Michael Morgan in the release. “Fire is a concern for our entire state, and this partnership is part of the long-term collaborative strategy to reduce the threat to our communities and natural resources.”
The collaborative effort, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction
Law, will operate in the Front Range Priority Landscape, which includes areas along the Front Range from the Wyoming state line to the Interstate 70 corridor, according to the release. It is also part of the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative
The agreement, described in the release as the first of its kind between two agencies, involves implementing a “preventative, crossboundary approach to wildfire mitigation.” This will include the formation of a joint wildland fire and fuels module focused on “reducing hazardous fuels in and around the wildland-urban interface on both public and private lands,” the release stated, adding that the module will focus on strategic project planning, information distribution and wildfire mitigation implementation, such as prescribed burning.
“The Division and the Forest have a strong foundation of working together during wildfires,” said Forest Supervisor Monte Williams in the release. “This is the first time our agencies have come together to get out ahead of the fires, to do some preventative planning and treatments across fence lines, and I’m really excited about all the doors this agreement opens for us.”