Legislative committee recommends adding federal legislative role to council charter

The Colorado Forest Health Council's legislative committee voted on July 25 to recommend a narrowly framed change to its charter to include state and federal legislative matters and to clarify how the committee would liaise with the Department of Natural Resources.

Pat Dorsey moved the recommendation, saying, "I move that we recommend this language moving forward." The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Committee members said the change is procedural: it expands the committee's stated ability to provide technical feedback and advisory comments on state and federal proposals rather than altering the council's overall mission.

Committee members debated whether the charter should explicitly call out support for a sustainable timber industry. Commissioner Veronica Medina urged adding language to reflect the council's broader forest-health mission, noting the council's role in workforce and industry education. Other members, including staff, said that topic is appropriate for a full-council discussion and that the proposed charter language is intended to be a procedural addition about how the committee engages with legislation.

The committee agreed to send the recommended edits to the full council for review. The recommended change does not itself change policy; final adoption would occur at the full council meeting and would follow any additional edits or review by DNR and the governor's office.

The committee also recorded that additional discussion about explicit industry-support language would be scheduled for the full council meeting so the entire council can weigh in.