Denver — Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet led Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Colorado U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, and U.S. Congressman Joe Neguse in urging U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Randy Moore to distribute funding and resources to address post-fire recovery needs from the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires in Colorado.
In 2020, the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires became the two largest wildfires in Colorado’s history after burning over 400,000 acres and forcing thousands of Coloradans from their homes. Persistent drought and extreme fire behavior, driven by climate change, led these fires to cause more damage and burn later in the fire season.
“These fires decimated the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF) in 2020 and laid waste to drinking water sources for over a million people,” wrote Bennet, Polis, Hickenlooper, and Neguse in the letter. “Every time it rains on the burn scars from these fires, the potential for mudslides and flooding risks the life and property of Coloradans nearby or downstream. To better protect these communities, we urge your immediate attention to advance watersheds recovery projects on nearby U.S. Forest Service managed lands.”
Late last year, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Grand County, and the Cities of Greeley and Fort Collins identified a $228 million funding shortfall for the ARNF, despite the urgency to help communities and ecosystems recover from the fires and the need to invest in the long-term rehabilitation efforts to stabilize watersheds in the Forests.
In their letter, Bennet, Polis, Hickenlooper, and Neguse urge USDA to prioritize the recovery of ARNF, and expedite permitting for partners on the ground. They also call on USFS to distribute the $50 million available to Colorado for recovery efforts as soon as possible.
“Insufficient funding halts recovery projects, weakens ecosystems, and threatens public health and safety,” they concluded.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack and Chief Moore:
We write today to urge distribution of funding and resources to post-fire recovery needs in Colorado.
We want to thank you for the resources the Department has already dedicated to the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires. As you know, these fires decimated the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF) in 2020 and laid waste to drinking water sources for over a million people. Two years after these megafires burned roughly 400,000 acres of critical watersheds, recovery needs persist. Every time it rains on the burn scars from these fires, the potential for mudslides and flooding risks the life and property of Coloradans nearby or downstream. To better protect these communities, we urge your immediate attention to advance watersheds recovery projects on nearby U.S. Forest Service managed lands.
Late last year, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Grand County, and the Cities of Greeley and Fort Collins identified a $228 million funding shortfall for the ARNF, despite a critical and ongoing need for post-fire recovery and long-term rehabilitation to stabilize watersheds and restore ecosystems in the Forest. Insufficient funding halts recovery projects, weakens ecosystems, and threatens public health and safety.
We urge you to prioritize recovery of this watershed and use the Department’s authorities to expedite permitting for local partners, so they can implement critical projects this year. It is also imperative that USFS distribute the $50 million available to Colorado toward recovery efforts on the ARNF as soon as possible to allow projects to move forward.
We request a briefing as soon as possible regarding the funding shortfall for the ARNF. We look forward to hearing from you and working together to help Coloradans.
Sincerely,