Work Will Increase the Pace and Scale of Wildfire Mitigation and Planning Projects Across Boulder County

Targeted grazing with goats is one way to reduce fire risk on Boulder’s grasslands.

Key Points

• Boulder County is awarding grant funding to partners for forest and grasslands fuels mitigation and planning projects.
• The money comes from a wildfire mitigation tax that Boulder County residents voted for in 2022 and which was first collected in 2023.
• The first grant cycle will provide more than $1.5 million in funding

Boulder County, Colo. - Boulder County Commissioners have authorized the distribution of $1,577,698 in awards for the first cycle of the Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant (SFMG) program from the Wildfire Mitigation Tax approved by voters in 2022 as County Issue 1A.

Revenues from the tax were first collected in 2023 to help leverage other state, federal and local grants to fund fuels mitigation (forest and grasslands) and Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) projects.

“We are pleased to award these grants to our partners to help increase the pace and scale of wildfire mitigation and planning efforts in Boulder County,” said Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann.

Grant Awards

A total of 13 grants were awarded to eleven organizations, including fire protection districts, non-profit groups, conservation districts, a homeowners association, and local governments for fuels mitigation and planning projects. The awards were recommended by the SFMG Selection Committee, comprised of five members solicited from a diverse group of stakeholders who have fuels mitigation, planning and wildland fire expertise.

• Allenspark Fire Protection District
  • Allenspark CWPP Update - $50,000
• Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District (2 projects)
  • Boulder Mountain Fuels Reduction Project - $410,812
  • Boulder Mountain CWPP Update - $50,000
• Boulder Valley and Longmont Conservation Districts (2 projects)
  • Gold Hill Wildfire Resilience Project - $153,800
  • Ski Road Forest Restoration Project - $60,913
• The Boulder Watershed Collective
  • Copperdale Community Mitigation Project - $21,956
• City of Longmont
  • Longmont Spillway Mitigation Project - $100,000
• Devils Thumb Homeowners Association
  • The Devils Thumb HOA Grasslands Mitigation Project - $50,000
• Four Mile Fire Protection District
  • Eagle’s Drive/Canyonside Fuelbreak Project - $32,868
• Lefthand Fire Protection District
  • Upper Ceran Saint Vrain Fuels Mitigation Project - $287,550
• Sugarloaf Fire Protection District
  • Arkansas Mountain Fuels Reduction Project - $139,899
• Sunshine Fire Protection District
  • The Dry Gulch South Fuels Reduction Project - $169,880
• The Town of Lyons and Lyons Fire Protection District
  • Lyons CWPP Update - $50,000

View detailed information on each project.

2024 Grant Cycle

The next grant cycle will open to applicants in April of 2024. Subscribe to Wildfire Mitigation news to be notified when the application period opens.

To learn more about the grant program, visit the Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant Program page. Contact Meg Halford at mhalford@bouldercounty.gov or 720-388-0264.

Forest thinning work will be performed in many of the funded projects.