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Chaffee County approves MOU with National Forest Foundation for cross‑boundary resiliency work
Summary
The Chaffee County Board approved a memorandum of understanding allowing the National Forest Foundation to manage state grant funds for a 265‑acre cross‑boundary forest thinning project east of Granite and related treatments, after commissioners pressed for monitoring and weed‑control plans.
The Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved a memorandum of understanding enabling the National Forest Foundation to implement a state‑funded cross‑boundary resiliency project east of Granite and near Clear Creek.
Commissioners heard from National Forest Foundation staff that the work is funded through a state CoSwap grant and that the foundation will bring required matching funds from federal partners, including BLM and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. "CoSwap does require a 25% match," an NFF representative said during the meeting.
The project covers about 265 acres east of Granite and roughly 20 acres around Clear Creek, and will use a mix of treatments — mastication, hand treatments and some logging — intended to reduce wildfire risk. Jeremiah Moore, a forester with the BLM, described the agency's monitoring protocol: pre‑treatment plots and follow‑up checks at one, two and five years, with immediate treatment for identified invasive species under protocols cleared through the National Environmental Policy Act.
Commissioners pressed for more detail on revegetation and noxious‑weed mitigation for mastication work, especially at flood‑prone sites such as Silver Cliff Ranch. Andy Lurch of the Colorado State Forest Service told the board the Silver Cliffs project will include a full forest management plan under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and that the county weed department is part of ongoing coordination.
After questions about who provides the required project matches and concerns about downstream water impacts tied to reservoir expansion, the board voted to approve the MOU, directing staff to finalize the agreement.
The approval allows the county to pass state funds to the National Forest Foundation to manage implementation and monitoring of the listed treatments. Staff said the state grant is already awarded and the MOU formalizes the project manager relationship.
Next steps include finalizing the MOU language and coordinating with BLM and state partners on monitoring and weed‑control protocols.
