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Utah County approves cooperative agreement with state for wildland-fire mitigation participation
Summary
The county authorized participation in a state wildland-fire suppression fund designed to stabilize costs and provide mitigation credits; state staff said at least 50% of participation could be met through mitigation practices and prevention work.
The Utah County Commission approved a cooperative agreement with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to participate in a wildland-fire suppression funding program that provides stability in expected costs and credit for mitigation activities.
Trent Bristol, area manager for Forestry, Fire and State Lands, explained the program'including how jurisdictions can earn credit toward the participation commitment by undertaking mitigation, prevention or education work. Bristol said counties can earn "full credit for any of those" mitigation activities and suggested at least 50% of the county's participation could be satisfied by mitigation measures.
Commissioners debated staffing and cost trade-offs: state staff proposed several full-time positions to help implement mitigation across the large county geography, while some commissioners suggested starting with a single coordinator and using existing county resources to accomplish work and verify offsets. Commissioners also discussed carrying over participation shortfalls for up to three years if mitigation credit falls short.
After the discussion the commission voted to approve and authorize the cooperative agreement (motion carried 3-0). Staff said details about county staffing and program implementation would be worked out following agreement execution.
