Colorado Fire Commission unveils statewide strategy to expand prescribed burning on nonfederal lands

The Colorado Fire Commission presented a statewide strategy to expand prescribed burning on nonfederal lands during the Colorado Forest Health Council meeting in Pagosa Springs on April 30.

“This is the Colorado statewide strategy for prescribed fire on nonfederal lands,” said Katie Lobidosinski, program manager for the Colorado Fire Commission, as she introduced the plan to council members and agency staff.

The strategy frames prescribed fire as a tool to reduce wildfire risk, restore ecological function and support long‑term forest and watershed resilience. It identifies six categories of barriers — liability, training and certification, permitting, coordination of treatments, public and political outreach, and funding — and packages 21 recommended strategies to address them. The subcommittee behind the work rated nine of those strategies as requiring legislative action and 12 as administrative actions that agencies can pursue without new law.

Why it matters

Prescribed fire advocates say more controlled, planned fire on the landscape will reduce the likelihood of catastrophic wildfire and make landscapes and communities more resilient to changing climate and weather patterns. The strategy aims to lower the practical and legal hurdles that limit prescribed burns on private and other nonfederal lands, especially where cross‑boundary work is required.

Key recommendations

- Liability and insurance: The plan recommends clarifying statutory liability language, exploring legal frameworks for shared or pooled insurance, and creating a state prescribed‑fire claims fund to provide a financial backstop for certified burners, trainees and landowners. (Colorado’s proposed legislation on a prescribed‑fire claims cash fund — discussed in the legislature as Senate Bill 7 during the same session — was noted by staff as related but still unresolved.)

- Training and workforce: The strategy calls for increasing the number and frequency of Colorado certified‑burner trainings and RXB‑3 (pile‑burn) courses, supporting travel and tuition for staff to attend national interagency prescribed‑fire training, and launching mentorship and retention programs so trainees complete certification and actually implement burns.

- Permitting and guidance: The report urges state guidance and standardized templates for burn plans and smoke permits, a separate expedited pathway for air‑curtain burner approvals when used for fuel‑reduction work, and publicly tracked turnaround times for approvals to improve transparency.

- Coordination and response capacity: The plan recommends establishing a predictable annual state budget line for prescribed‑fire planning and implementation, building Colorado‑specific prescribed‑fire crews and overhead to support cross‑boundary operations, and creating shared agreements to enable local collaboratives and partners to implement work promptly when weather and conditions align.

- Public outreach and mapping: The strategy recommends a statewide prescribed‑fire public awareness campaign and a publicly available, living map of completed, planned and active prescribed burns with anticipated smoke impacts to help communities prepare and reduce confusion when smoke is visible.

- Funding: The plan asks for multiyear, diversified funding (state, federal, grants, private philanthropy and market approaches) to sustain collaboratives, nursery and seed investments, workforce development and implementation capacity.

Discussion in Pagosa Springs

Council members and agency staff discussed the recommendations at length. Staff and commissioners emphasized the immediate challenges of funding and agency capacity, and warned that without steady funding and sufficient staff the most ambitious elements of the strategy will be difficult to implement.

Several council members urged policies that preserve local control and flexibility. Multiple participants said pile burning — smaller, contained burns often used on private parcels — can serve as an entry point for building local capacity and public acceptance. “I would suggest getting as aggressive as you can possibly be on pile burning,” said Mark Morgan, who spoke during the discussion, noting that successful, well‑managed pile burns can build insurer and public confidence.

Other council members warned that statewide direction should account for the needs of rural counties where permitting, staffing and access differ from more urbanized areas. Participants repeatedly raised the point that legal clarity and reasonable, locally appropriate permitting timelines are prerequisites for many local entities to do more prescribed burning.

Next steps and priorities

The Fire Commission subcommittee surveyed its members to prioritize the list of 21 strategies. The subcommittee will fast‑track a slate of recommendations that could be advanced administratively or by legislation, while continuing outreach to local governments, fire districts and federal partners.

Presenters asked the Forest Health Council and its committees to consider how they can support implementation — for example, by helping tell local and state success stories, by coordinating with the state’s forest service and DNR on training and funding requests, and by identifying pilot projects where cross‑boundary prescribed fire could be scaled.

Several presenters and council members encouraged other practitioners and local officials to join the subcommittee and the Colorado Fire Commission’s work. Lobidosinski said the commission will provide contact and sign‑up information for jurisdictions and collaborators that want to participate.

Why the strategy is not a quick fix

Staff cautioned that many of the high‑priority items will require funding and legislative action in an uncertain budget environment. Presenters noted that even when legislation is introduced — for example, the draft around a prescribed‑fire claims fund discussed during the legislative session — securing stable appropriations is a separate challenge.

What to watch for

- Legislative movement on a prescribed‑fire claims fund, liability clarifications and budget line items for DFPC and the Colorado State Forest Service. - Administrative work by state agencies to publish standardized guidance, permit pathways and reporting metrics. - Training and mentorship investments to increase the number of certified burners and burn bosses who move from classroom training to on‑the‑ground implementation.

Ending

Council and Fire Commission leaders described the strategy as a coordinated, statewide framework intended to remove hurdles and expand safe, effective use of prescribed fire across ownerships. The subcommittee will continue prioritizing items for near‑term action and asked the council and local partners to help with outreach, pilot projects and advocacy for stable funding and implementation support.

For more information and to join the subcommittee, the commission asked interested parties to contact the Colorado Fire Commission program manager, Katie Lobidosinski.