Current and Future Programs
Boulder County placed the sales and use tax on the ballot for the purpose of funding countywide wildfire mitigation efforts to proactively address the increasing risk of climate-driven wildfires. These efforts are focused on two programmatic areas: 1. strategic land management, and 2. community resiliency. Information on new programs will be posted as it becomes available.
Boulder County Strategic Fuels Mitigation Program
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Boulder County Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant Program (SFMG), with the first cycle opening on October 30th, 2023.
The SFMG program provides cost-share funding through competitive grants to leverage other federal, state, and local funds to help reduce the risk of wildfire to people, property, and infrastructure throughout Boulder County. Funding is intended to promote forest, grassland, and watershed health through collaborative, large-scale projects. Funds are also available to support the development of new or updated Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP). For more information, please visit the SFMG webpage.
A New Grant Program for Strategic Forest and Grassland Management Projects
Boulder County is developing a new grant program using the Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax revenue to conduct strategic forest and grassland management projects using fireshed partnerships. The goals include reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire, protecting drinking water supplies, and creating more resilient forest and grassland ecosystems.
Working with our partners, Boulder County has established a grant advisory committee to help develop the program. The committee includes:
- 2 members of Boulder County Fire Protection Districts (representing eastern and western areas in the county)
- 1 member of Boulder County Parks and Open Space
- 1 member of City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
- 1 member of United States Forest Service (Boulder Ranger District)
- 1 member of Colorado Department of Natural Resources
- 2 members of Colorado State Forest Service
- 1 member of a non-governmental organization
- 1 member of Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting Department’s Wildfire Mitigation Team
The wildfire mitigation grant advisory committee is currently developing grant processes which include eligibility criteria, application processes, guidelines, and review and scoring processes. The county grant program is intended to act as a cost-share or leveraging program to other existing state, federal, and local grants.
Wildfire Partners
Wildfire Partners is Boulder County’s wildfire mitigation program. Wildfire Partners helps homeowners prepare their homes for wildfires by providing community partnerships, personalized technical assistance, and financial assistance. Prior to 2022, the program only operated in west Boulder County. With the passage of the Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax Wildfire Partners will be expanding to the east county.
Wildfire Partners Chipping Program
Wildfire Partners is currently re-designing the program in order to serve more Boulder County residents than in the past. The new program will be funded by several different sources including the Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax. For current information, view the Boulder County Community Chipping Program webpage.
Financial Assistance for Home Hardening
Providing financial incentives is a key component of the new Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax Program. However, it will take time to develop this part of the program. We expect to start offering financial assistance for home hardening in 2024.
Wildfire Partners in West Boulder County
In 2023, Wildfire Partners will continue to operate in west Boulder County as it has in past years using existing (non-1A) grant funding.
Wildfire Partners in East Boulder County
Wildfire Partners in east Boulder County is expected to look significantly different than it has in the west. It is expected to include many of the activities that took place in the early years of wildfire mitigation efforts in the western county, such as conducting community risk assessments, leading public awareness campaigns, attending community events, performing education and outreach, funding community chipping efforts, helping to create Firewise Communities, organizing Tour of Homes events, developing community wildfire protection plans, as well as conducting individual home assessments in targeted high-risk and high-needs communities.
In 2022, Boulder County completed the Wildfire Partners Plains Project to test our existing home assessment tools in the east. We received 242 applications for the pilot project and selected 100 participants who were disbursed across the unincorporated county as broadly as possible. We selected a diverse group of participants based on lot sizes, neighborhood types, and community risk factors like proximity to open space and ditches. This Plains Pilot Project was launched before ballot measure Wildfire Mitigation Tax was designed, and as a result, the pilot project was not intended to test potential uses of these new funds.
In 2023, Wildfire Partners staff will continue to seek input, meet with partners, and test different wildfire mitigation concepts and activities for future Wildfire Mitigation Sales Tax funding. We will begin with outreach and education efforts and launch a public awareness campaign. Using grant 1A funds, we will develop phase 2 of the Plains Pilot Project based on lessons learned from phase 1.