Keystone-led wildfire and watershed initiative seeks sustainable public and private funding; committee probes liability and private‑sector outreach

Julie Shapiro, natural resources center director at Keystone Policy Center, told the Forest Health legislative committee that a new cross‑sector effort called Work is focused on securing sustainable public, local and private funding to accelerate wildfire risk reduction and watershed resilience across Colorado.

Shapiro said Work’s mission is to “advance sustainable public and private funding and other strategies to enhance the pace and scale of wildfire risk reduction and watershed resilience.” She described the effort as a convening forum that complements but does not replace operational agencies: “We are there to support really productive, action‑oriented conversations,” she said.

The initiative, Shapiro said, grew out of about a year of conversations among water utilities, federal and state agencies and nonprofits and picked up momentum after a December 2024 Denver Water luncheon that broadened private‑sector interest. Work’s initial…