Transcript Q4-11 Roundtable Meeting Agenda Friday, Feb. 3, 9:30 am

Q3-12 Meeting
Jefferson County Administration Building, Golden, CO
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Facilitated by:
Front Range Roundtable
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Colorado’s Fire Seasons
Thousands of acres of wildfire per year, (Total = 1.3
million acres of wildfire)
619
Includes Bobcat
Gulch fire: 11k
acres
Includes Buffalo
Creek fire: 12k
acres
47
17
Includes
Fourmile fire:
6k acres
215
114
32
Includes Hayman fire:
$200 million of costs
from the Hayman Fire
alone, which
accounted for one-fifth
of all acres burned that
year (138k acres)
9
33
52
49
35
41
150
27
51
44
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
FRFTP
formed
Round
-table
Vision
Implementation
Sources: Rocky Mountain Area and Coordination Center Annual Activity Report (2001-2004); Wildland Fire Activity by Cause, Combining
Federal and Non-federal Agencies Within Each State (www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/oo_annual_report.pdf)
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Front Range Forests
• 4.2 million acres of forest in
the Front Range
“Subalpine”: Lodgepole Pine and Spruce Fir
•1.4 million in need of
ecological restoration and fire
risk mitigation
“Upper Montane”: Mesic Ponderosa Pine
“Lower Montane”: Dry Ponderosa pine and Dry
and Mixed Conifer
3
Front Range Roundtable
Douglas fir
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3
Definitions of Front Range life zones
Front Range life
zones
General
elevations1
Example
communities
Dominant overstory Associated
composition
vegetation types
>~11,500’
• None
• No trees
• Grassy slopes and
boulder fields
• Sedges, mat and
cushion plants, dwarf
willows
~9,000-9,500’ to
~11,500’
• Winter Park
• Ward
• Lodgepole Pine
• Spruce/Fir
• Bogs, meadows, ponds,
rich in wildflowers
~8,000’ to ~9,0009,500’
• Estes Park
• Granby
• Mesic Ponderosa
Pine
• Mesic Mixed
Conifer2
•
Some permanent
meadows
~6,000’ to ~8,000’
• Evergreen
• Monument
• Dry Ponderosa
Pine
• Dry Douglas-fir
•
•
Mountain-mahogany
Scrub Oak
• Boulder
• Golden
• Transition to
Ponderosa Pine
•
•
•
Grassland
Mountain-mahogany
Scrub Oak
Alpine
Subalpine
Upper
Montane
Lower
Montane
Lower
Ecotone
~5,500’ to ~6,000’
1
Elevations noted are rough estimates – actual elevation limits depend on latitude, aspect, and other local factors; elevations generally lower in northern
Front Range and on north-facing slopes, higher in southern Front Range and on south-facing slopes (e.g., Upper limit of Lower Montane ~7,500’ in Larimer
vs. ~8,500’ in El Paso)
2 May include: Ponderosa Pine, Douglas-fir (up to ~8,000’), Aspen, Blue Spruce, Limber Pine, Engelmann Spruce, Sub-alpine Fir
Note: Riparian zones are included and considered in each life zone in which they are found
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4
The Lower Montane is the Roundtable’s highest priority
ecosystem for landscape-scale ecological restoration.
General
elevations1
Front Range
ecosystems
HRV2 well
understood?
Difference
from HRV2?
Risk of
ignition / fire
spread
High
Mixed
Low
>~11,500’
Alpine
~9,000-9,500’
to ~11,500’
Subalpine
~8,000’ to
~9,000-9,500’
Upper
Montane
~6,000’ to
~8,000’
Lower
Montane
~5,500’ to
~6,000’
Lower
Ecotone
1 Elevations noted are rough estimates – actual elevation limits depend on latitude, aspect, and other local factors
2 Historical Range of Variability in terms of vegetation characteristics; fuel composition; fire frequency, severity and pattern; and other associated disturbances
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5
Historical photos show how forest treatments in the Lower
Montane restore forest structures
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6
Forest Restoration = Fire Risk Reduction in the Lower Montane
Fourmile Canyon Fire, 2010
Bald Mountain
• Began Labor Day, September 6, 2010
• Estimated $217 million in personal property
losses and damages: fire destroyed 169 homes.
• “Without past mitigation activities, the outcome
could have been worse.”
Source: Map by the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee Buttes
National Grassland; Photos by John Bustos, a public affairs officer for the
Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee Buttes National Grassland
in Range Roundtable
Front
Fort Collins, CO.
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7
7
Front Range Lives and Resources Remain at Risk
People
•881
communities1
•2 million
people (more
than 40% of
Colorado’s
population)2
•More than
700,000
homes3
1.
2.
3.
Federal Register (as of January 4, 2001)
2005 Census (ESRI)
SERGoM (Spatially Explicit Regional Growth Model)
version `12 June 2008 (Theobald) 100m
Natural and
economic resources
Water and safety
•1,246 essential water supply
infrastructures (intakes4,
reservoirs, transbasin
diversions)
•4.2 million acres of forest
watersheds important for
drinking water (65% at risk for
post-fire erosion)5
•1,775 miles of roads8
•1,573 miles of transmission
lines
•664 miles of gas pipeline9
•122 communications towers10
4.
5.
6.
CDPHE, 2009
Colorado State Forest Service and The Nature
Conservancy. 2009. Colorado Statewide Forest
Assessment (in preparation).
LANDFIRE, 2006 (Includes PJ and shrubs)
7.
8.
9.
10.
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•4.2 million acres of forests6 (53%
of all land types7) including 2
million acres of habitat for 31
species of concern5
•80% of Front Range forests have
recreation opportunities5
attracting some of Colorado’s 28
million overnight visitors spending
$10 billion annually, making
tourism the second- highest
employment sector in the state,
with 143,000 jobs3
•$5 million per year of available
biomass from forest treatments12
ESRI, 2007
TIGER: USCB. 2006
Ventyx, December 2009
FAA, 2009
11. “State spending on tourism a hot potato for
lawmakers,” Rocky Mountain News, January
12, 2009.
12. 166,000 bdt/y (Jefferson County Biomass
Facility Feasibility Study, McNeil Technologies
Inc , January 2005 ) * $30
8
The Front Range Roundtable
Mission
Vision
The Front Range Roundtable was formed to “serve as a focal point
for diverse stakeholder input into efforts to reduce wildland fire risks
and improve forest health through sustained fuels treatment along
the Colorado Front Range.”
The Front Range roundtable has reached consensus that 1.5 million
acres of Front Range forests require treatments to reduce fire risk
and/or achieve ecological restoration.
Ecological
Restoration
Goals
Fire Risk
Mitigation Goals
~400,000
acres
~400,000
acres
~700,000
acres
Overlap of goals
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9
2009 Map of Priorities: Accomplishments vs. 2006
Recommendations
Notes on methods
1.Data collected back to 2004 to our best available knowledge (received
for treated acres separately from planned acres as shown)
2.Excludes private land treated without the assistance of the CSFS
3.Excludes county lands treated in Park, Teller, Douglas, El Paso, and
Grand.
4.Some of these areas have been treated with prescribed or natural burn
and may not require additional near-term treatment. Some of these
areas have been treated mechanically but still require prescribed or
natural burn to achieve restoration.
5.Different databases are used between units/agencies. Data is
comparable within a unit, but not between units. This should be
resolved for 2009 and future years.
Source: Map by
USFS-ARP
Front Range Roundtable
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10
Treatment Accomplishments by County as of 2009 vs.
2006 Roundtable Recommendations
Data underlying the monitoring map on the prior slide:
Front Range
Roundtable
county
Boulder
Roundtable
priority areas as
of 2006
Acres treated
anywhere in
County (20042008)
Acres treated in
Roundtable
priority areas
% of priority
acres treated
% of treatments
outside
Roundtable
priorities
150,245
12,844
12,844
9%
0%
63,133
246
100
0%
59%
Douglas
181,303
12,480
8,975
5%
28%
El Paso
138,681
5,658
744
1%
87%
Gilpin
44,453
787
478
1%
39%
Grand
56,563
20,042
4,479
8%
78%
Jefferson
227,805
22,336
22,336
10%
0%
Larimer
226,460
23,425
7,671
3%
67%
Park
194,431
10,191
8,922
5%
12%
143,850
1,426,925
21,880
129,888
13,573
80,122
9%
6%
38%
38%
Clear Creek
Teller
TOTAL
Front Range Roundtable
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11
Progress Towards the Roundtable Vision
Direct Roundtable Successes
1. Launched the self-sustaining Woodland Park Healthy Forest Initiative (WPHFI) with seed funds
of $75,000 provided by Roundtable members and partners, which the WPHFI leveraged into an
additional $175,000 in other funding
2. Helped submit a winning proposal to the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program
(CFLRP) for an additional $1 million for Front Range National Forests in FY10, $3.4 million in FY11
and $3.1 million in FY12 (with the possibility of further allocations).
Partners’ successes consistent with recommendations
1. Long term stewardships contracts: Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel (3,000 acres/yr for 10
years)
2. Increased federal funding for on the ground treatments: $1.8 mm more in 2008 than in 2006;
$1 million in 2009 ARRA funds
3. Biomass utilization: bioheating in Gilpin, Boulder, and Park counties; planned in El Paso; 22 slash
sites for private landowners across Front Range
4. CWPPs: 75 Front Range CWPPs approved (out of 151 completed in Colorado)
5. Policies: Passage of state legislation authorizing the creation of local Forest Improvement
Districts
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12
Progress Against 2006 Roundtable
Recommendations
Significant progress made
Some progress made
Initial progress made
Needs attention
No action taken
G
B
Y
P
R
2006 Roundtable goals
Increase funding for
forest treatments
Reduce the cost of
forest treatments
Recommended initiatives
1.
Identify new state and local funding sources for treatments on
state and private land.
2.
Increase forest treatment incentives for private landowners.
3.
Advocate for additional federal funding for Front Range forest
treatments.
Sept. 2009
“gut
check”
April 2010
OEO team
analysis
Current
Roundtable
consensus
B
B
B
Y
B
Y
Y
B
B
4.
Increase appropriate application of prescribed fire and wildland
fire use as a management tool.
R
Y
Y
5.
Increase utilization of woody biomass for facility heating.
P
P
6.
Increase contract sizes and durations with stewardship contracts
on federal land.
Y
Y
Y
B
Ensure local
leadership and
planning
7.
Change local policy to limit the growth of fire risk in the WildlandUrban Interface.
P
P
P
8.
Promote the development of Community Wildfire Protection
Plans for Front Range communities-at-risk.
B
B
B
Set clear priorities and
ensure progress
against common goals
9.
Adopt a clear and common framework for prioritizing treatments.
R
B
B
10.
Convene follow-on Roundtable to ensure implementation of
recommended initiatives.
B
G
G
Source: Most initiatives were rated by a poll at the September 18, 2009 Quarterly Roundtable meeting of 37 attendees from 24 organizations representing 11 stakeholder groups. Ratings for initiatives 3, 5, and 6 were
increased by one level at the December 2, 2010 Executive Team meeting. Ratings for initiatives 3, 5, and 6 were raised on level at the March 4, 2011 Roundtable meeting.
Front Range Roundtable
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13
Roundtable
Partners
Mixed teams
Roundtable Organization
Boulder County
Clear Creek County
Douglas County
Gilpin County
El Paso County
Jefferson County
Larimer County
Park County
Teller County
Front Range Fuels Treatment
Partnership (FRFTP)2
Executive Team
Funders
Coalition for the Upper South
Platte (CUSP)—Fiscal Agent)1
Colorado Watershed Wildfire Protection
Working Group (CWWPWG)2
Northern Front Range Mountain Pine
Beetle Working Group (NFRMPBWG)2
National Forest Foundation
USFS-AR
USFS-Pike
CSFS
TNC
West Range Reclamation
RMRS
Denver Water
NRCS
Facilitator
Members
Guests
Implementation
and Mapping (IM)
Team
1.
2.
3.
Outreach & Policy
(OP) Team
Biomass
Utilization and
Slash Sites (BUSS)
Team
The Front Range Roundtable is not itself a legal entity but an informal volunteer coalition with CUSP acting as fiscal agent.
Partner groups are separate from the Front Range Roundtable and have their own organizational structures and initiatives.
Project leader and fiscal agent for the CFLRP Monitoring Teams
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Science and
Monitoring (SM)
Team
Colorado Forest Restoration Institute
(CFRI) 3
14
Executive Team Structure and Change Process
Size: At least 6 or no more than 7
Dedicated to certain organizations1
Dedicated to certain stakeholder groups2
Open to other stakeholder groups3
members4
Current Executive Team Membership
USFS-AR
Supervisor
Glenn
Casamassa
Process for
changing
membership:
1.
2.
3.
4.
USFS-PSI
Supervisor
Jerri Marr
CSFS State
Forester
Jeff Jahnke
Only when there is a change in the
leadership of the organization shown
Conservation
NGO
Paige Lewis,
The Nature
Conservancy
County
Commissioner—North
Cindy
Domenico,
Boulder
County
County
Commissioner
—South
Other
stakeholder
group
Commissioner
John Tighe,
Park County
Open (WUI
rep or fire
expert sought)
Term ends July
2012
The Executive Team
will determine
needs and extend
invitations on a
case-by-case basis
(currently seeking
southern county
commissioner and
fire expert).
Terms end May 2013
Three seats are dedicated permanently to these leadership positions from these organizations shown
Two seats are dedicated to these stakeholder groups shown with the representing organization rotating each year, as desired
One or two seats are open to additional or other stakeholder groups with the stakeholder type and/or representing organization rotating
each year as desired among: Conservation, County Commissioner, Energy, Insurance, Local Government, Planning, Private, Recreation,
Science / Academic, State Government, Timber, or Water
Membership size can very depending on the decisions of the Executive team and Roundtable needs / number of applicants
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15
Front Range Roundtable Participants Through
the Years
~190 people from ~80 organizations are currently subscribed to email list (to join, see
www.frontrangeroundtable.org  “Sign Up”)
Org Type
Conservation
County
Energy
Planning
Recreation
State gov't
Organization
ARP Foundation
Coalition for the Upper South Platte
Conservation Districts and Colorado
Geological Survey
Forest Health Task Force
Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance
Southern Rockies Conservation
Alliance
The Nature Conservancy
The Wilderness Society
Boulder County
Clear Creek County
Colorado Counties Inc.
Douglas County
El Paso County
Gilpin County
Grand County
Jefferson County
Larimer County
Park County
Teller County
Colorado Renewable Resource
Cooperative
Environmental Energy Partners
Forest Energy Colorado
Xcel Energy
American Planning Association
Colorado Mountain Club
Colorado General Assembly
Org Type
Federal
agency
Organization
Bureau of Land Management
National Forest Foundation
National Park Service
Natural Resources Conservation
Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
US Bureau of Land Management
US Fish and Wildlife Service
US Forest Service
US Geological Survey
US Forest Service, PSICC
Colorado Division of Wildlife
US Forest Service-Region 2
US Forest Service, ARP
Federal
gov't
US House of Representatives
Office of US Senator Bennet
Rocky Mountain Insurance Information
Insurance Association
City of Fort Collins
Local gov't Colorado Municipal League
Northern Colorado Water Conservancy
District
City of Woodland Park
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Org Type Organization
Private Beh Management Consulting, Inc.
Bihn Systems
Confluence Energy
Habitat Management Inc.
Science /
Academic Center of the American West
Colorado State Forest Service
Colorado State University
Fire & Life Safety Educators of Colorado
Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research
University of Colorado at Denver
University of Denver
State
agency Colorado Air Pollution Control Division
Colorado Division of Emergency
Management
Colorado Office of Economic Development
Colorado State Forest Service
Governor's Energy Office
Colorado State Forest Service
Colorado Division of Wildlife
Timber Colorado State Tree Farm Committee
Colorado Timber Industry Association
West Range Reclamation
Water
American Water Works Association
City of Aurora
Denver Water
16
Front Range Roundtable Roles
Executive
Team
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
Facilitator
2.
3.
Working
Teams
Members
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
Propose strategic, organizational, and operational priorities for the Roundtable’s consideration
at Quarterly meetings
In between Quarterly meetings, make decisions on behalf of the Roundtable as needed
Approve agendas for Roundtable Quarterly meetings (proposed by Facilitator)
Meet once each quarter between Quarterly Roundtable meetings
Schedule, arrange, and facilitate Roundtable Quarterly meetings, Executive Team meetings,
and working team meetings
Support working teams in achieving their goals by providing organizational, administrative,
and logistical support (e.g., keeping work plans) —not content or legwork
Act as the central point of contact for all Roundtable internal and external communications
(e.g., email distribution list, website maintenance)
Execute on the Roundtable’s strategic goals, according to work plans developed jointly by the
teams
Present progress updates at Quarterly Roundtable meetings
Attend working team meetings as scheduled, typically two calls per month with some in
person meetings as determined by the team
Attend quarterly Roundtable meetings and, when required, approve or change proposals by
the Executive Team
Share relevant announcements and updates to Quarterly Roundtable meetings; productively
contribute to discussions, honoring the obligation to dissent when necessary
Volunteer for working teams if able and/or want to see something done by the Roundtable
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17
Front Range Roundtable 2012 Goals
Executive Team
• Lead in forming a coalition to recommend policy initiatives to limits fire risks in the WUI.
• Lead the Roundtable to agree on a collaborative adaptive management process
• Fundraise at least $50,000
Implementation
and Mapping (IM)
Team
•
Develop a project plan and attract funding for a turn-key project around at least one of the
highest priority landscape identified.
•
Update the Front Range 10-County map of completed treatments
Outreach & Policy
(OP) Team/WUI
Team
•
Assist the Executive team in exploring economic study to inform policy initiatives to limit fire
risks in the WUI
Biomass Utilization
and Slash Sites
(BUSS) Team
•
Science &
Monitoring (SM)
Team
•
•
•
•
Share information about biomass utilization developments across the Front Range (via
monthly calls)
Serve as the Front Range CFLR project multi-party monitoring group
Develop an adaptive management process and recommendations
Revise the June 2011 CFLR monitoring plan
Assemble and inventory GIS and other data to facilitate information sharing on Front
Range forest research/fire history.
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