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Custer County approves contract with Fire Adapted Colorado to finish wildfire protection plan
Summary
Custer County commissioners approved a bid-waiver contract with Fire Adapted Colorado to complete the countywide Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), citing an imminent Colorado Wildfire Defense Grant deadline and the need for local mapping and stakeholder sign-off.
Custer County commissioners voted on Nov. 12 to approve a contract with Fire Adapted Colorado to complete the countywide Wildfire Protection Plan, a step county officials said is needed to pursue state wildfire defense grant funding.
Robin Knappe, who presented the proposal, said the county’s CWPP has been underway and that Fire Adapted Colorado has local knowledge and partner relationships that would help finish the plan on a tight timeline. “This bid waiver request is not a full CWPP development proposal, but an effort to assist Custer County in getting it across the finish line,” Knappe said, asking the board to accept a sole‑source approach so the county can meet the grant application window.
Commissioner John (a CWPP planning team member) urged urgency, saying there may be only one more round of Colorado Wildfire Defense Grant funding and that an approved CWPP is a prerequisite to apply. He described how similar mapping and RADS analyses helped other counties direct large-scale mitigation work and attract tens of millions in grant funding.
The board discussed mapping (GIS) needs, partner sign-offs from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Colorado State Forest Service, and contract details. The presenter said $6,500 would be taken from the 2025 budget now, and approximately $8,500 would be requested in the 2026 budget to complete the work. The board moved, amended the motion to include approving the contract, and voted to approve the CWPP completion proposal and contract.
The decision allows staff to execute the contract with Fire Adapted Colorado and begin the final mapping and public facilitation steps required for state sign-off; commissioners noted the effort will support grant applications for larger mitigation projects but will not itself fund on‑the‑ground treatments.
