Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Pitkin County considers seasonal backcountry response officers to backfill Forest Service cuts
Summary
County commissioners discussed adding two seasonal, term-limited backcountry community response officers to help with public safety, early wildfire detection and resource protection where U.S. Forest Service staffing has declined.
Pitkin County commissioners on June 10 reviewed a supplemental budget request to hire two seasonal, term-limited backcountry community response officers through the sheriff’s office.
The county manager and sheriff’s office described the positions as a modest, targeted effort to partly backfill field tasks the U.S. Forest Service has cut, including foot and vehicle patrol, early wildfire detection, enforcement of vehicle rules, and remote medical and accident response where cell service is unavailable. County staff said the county previously ran a one-person backcountry officer program and modeled the supplemental on that experience.
County Man…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
