Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection

SPAWP was awarded and continues to apply for allocation funds for matching reimbursement costs to work with community members to mitigate the areas around their homes to prevent destruction by wildfire. The passage of House Bill 20-1057 during the 2020 Colorado legislative session provided updates for the Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) grant program, administered by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS). The FRWRM program was created during the 2017 legislative session when the Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Bill 17-050, which consolidated the Colorado Forest Restoration Grant Program (previously administered by the CSFS) and the Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Program (previously administered by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources (CDNR)). This competitive grant program is designed to assist with funding community-level actions across the entire state to: reduce the risk to people, property and infrastructure from wildfire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI); promote forest health and the utilization of woody material including for traditional forest products and biomass energy; and encourage forest restoration projects. This project project reduces risks to assets, loss of Human lives and Wildlife as well as creates work employment for Contractors.

In September 2020, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) was awarded the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Hwy 12 Grant with Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection (SPAWP) as the main implementation partner. The purpose of this $300k grant is to use its funds to create a continuous 17 mile “Shaded Fuel and Fire Break” 150 feet on either side of Hwy 12 (from Cucharas Pass to La Veta) on both state and private lands, as the only evacuation route out of the Cuchara Valley. A shaded fuel brake is a zone where the density of the forest is reduced by removing fuel on the ground and increasing tree crown spacing to provide an area where, in case of a wildfire, the firefighters could safely and effectively fight the fire.

SPAWP (Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Prevention) facilitates discussions, negotiation and collaborations between the USDA/USFS (US Dept of Agriculture/US Forest Service), Huerfano County Dept of Emergency and Disaster Mgmt and local Communities to create designated areas for Slash Collection Piles for Supervised Burning by the USFS. SPAWP hosts community slash pile collection events at mutually agreed location in the mountain forested area of La Veta, CO area. Slash-burning is a complimentary form of fire mitigation designed to keep forests healthy and prevent dangerous wildfires by safely burning leaves, pine needles, downed trees, standing small trees, and thick vegetation. The U.S. Forest Service burns piles of woody debris (slash) in an effort to reduce hazardous fuels.

In December 2020, the Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection (SPAWP) was awarded a Federal Financial Assistance grant from the US Department of Interior - Bureau of Land Management for the amount of $25,000 with an additional $30,000 in 2021. The cooperative agreement goal is to reduce erosion and Ips beetle threats that are a direct consequence of the burned BLM land, specific to Silver Mountain (Majors Ranch POA) and South Middle Creek which were deeply impacted by the 2018 Spring Creek fire. Specific objectives underway include - Addressing continued erosion and excessive runoff from public lands as necessary for soil stabilization and reforestation - Facilitating treatment of public lands by providing access through private property - Addressing excess flow and sedimentation to ensure that culverts (and other infrastructure) maintain their integrity and functionality - Reducing destruction of property and roads from uncontrolled water flow from public lands

In early 2021, the Spanish Peaks Alliance for Wildfire Protection (SPAWP) was awarded reimbursement funds of $75,000 as part of the AIM (Action Implementation and Mitigation) program sponsored by the COCO organization (Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc) and included a matching component in the form of dollars and in-kind contributions, including volunteer hours. The goal of this grant was to strengthen SPAWP’s implementation capacity by funding a part-time Executive Director and a Wildfire Mitigation Team to coordinate project implementation and community engagement, facilitate wildfire mitigation assessments and to revitalize Firewise Communities. While the original team had turn-over, SPAWP successfully sponsored 2 demo projects and hosted multiple training and education sessions within a 4-county area, including a community forum in late 2022 which provided updates about extensive area wildfire protection activities and collaboration among US, CO State, local and area non-profits.