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Ouray County adopts updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan to qualify for federal funds
Summary
The Board adopted an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) tied to federal and state grant eligibility; presenters and commissioners said adoption is time-sensitive to preserve a $100,000 grant for plan completion.
A county presentation and discussion on May 20 led the Board of County Commissioners to adopt an updated Community Wildfire Protection Plan that county staff said is required to qualify for certain federal grants.
“Having this plan in place, allows us to apply for federal funds when they're available,” the presenter said, explaining that the updated plan is an update to the 2011 document and that federal law requires a CWPP to be adopted within five years to be eligible for Forest Service grants. The presenter also said the county received a $100,000 grant that was used to contract with JEO for plan work and warned that “if we don't have it adopted by June 1, there's potential of losing that grant.”
The CWPP defines the county’s wildland-urban interface, identifies priority risk zones and critical infrastructure exposure, and lays out an action plan that includes fuel-reduction projects covering tens of thousands of acres and an ongoing schedule for annual updates. The plan was described as integrating with the county master plan, hazard mitigation plan and emergency operations plan.
Commissioners praised the document’s mapping and interagency input and asked how the plan would interact with a potential future fire authority. A commissioner asked whether creating a fire authority would change this plan; the presenter replied it would not: “I do not believe that there's gonna be any effect on this plan because the authority, they still do their same jobs,” the presenter said.
A motion to adopt the plan passed unanimously; the presenter and staff said the plan would be shared with municipal partners and the county would begin implementing high-priority mitigation actions and annual reviews.
