© 2012. all rights reserved. front range roundtable about the front range roundtable november 30,...

© 2012. All rights reserved.Front Range Roundtable

About the Front Range RoundtableNovember 30, 2012

Facilitated by:


VisionRound-table

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

32 47 17 9 33114

52

619

49 35 41

215

27

150

51 44

161238

Colorado’s Fire SeasonsThousands of acres of wildfire per year (Total = 1.9 million acres of wildfire since 1995)

Sources: 1995 – 2010: 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); 2011 – 2012: http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_statistics.html

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)

Includes Buffalo Creek fire: 12k

acres

Includes Bobcat Gulch fire: 11k

acres Includes Fourmile fire: 6k acres

Five years of implementation

FRFTP formed

2

Includes Waldo (18k acres) and High Park (87k

acres)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/oo_annual_report.pdf

http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_statistics.html

http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_statistics.html


Front Range Forests

3

• 4.2 million acres of forest in the Front Range

•1.4 million in need of ecological restoration and fire risk mitigation

“Lower Montane”: Dry Ponderosa pine and Dry Douglas fir

“Upper Montane”: Mesic Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer

“Subalpine”: Lodgepole Pine and Spruce Fir

3


Definitions of Front Range life zones

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 FirNote: Riparian zones are included and considered in each life zone in which they are found

General elevations1

>~11,500’

~9,000-9,500’ to ~11,500’

~8,000’ to ~9,000-9,500’

~6,000’ to ~8,000’

~5,500’ to ~6,000’

Sub-alpine

Upper Montane

Lower Montane

Lower Ecotone

Alpine

Dominant overstory composition

Associated vegetation types

• Mountain-mahogany• Scrub Oak

• No trees

• Lodgepole Pine• Spruce/Fir

• Mesic Ponderosa Pine

• Mesic Mixed Conifer2

• Dry Ponderosa Pine

• Dry Douglas-fir

• Transition to Ponderosa Pine

• Grassland• Mountain-mahogany• Scrub Oak

• Some permanent meadows

Front Range life zones

• Grassy slopes and boulder fields

• Sedges, mat and cushion plants, dwarf willows

• Bogs, meadows, ponds, rich in wildflowers

Example communities

• None

• Winter Park• Ward

• Boulder• Golden

• Evergreen• Monument

• Estes Park• Granby

4


The Lower Montane is the Roundtable’s highest priority ecosystem for landscape-scale ecological restoration.

1 Elevations noted are rough estimates – actual elevation limits depend on latitude, aspect, and other local factors2 Historical Range of Variability in terms of vegetation characteristics; fuel composition; fire frequency, severity and pattern; and other associated disturbances

General elevations1

>~11,500’

~9,000-9,500’ to ~11,500’

~8,000’ to ~9,000-9,500’

~6,000’ to ~8,000’

~5,500’ to ~6,000’

Sub-alpine

Upper Montane

Lower Montane

Lower Ecotone

Alpine

High

Mixed

Low

Difference from HRV2?

Risk of ignition / fire

spreadHRV2 well

understood?Front Range ecosystems

5

© 2012. All rights reserved.Front Range Roundtable 6

Historical photos show how forest treatments in the Lower Montane restore forest structures


7

Forest Restoration = Fire Risk Reduction in the Lower Montane

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 Fort Collins, CO.

• 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.”

Bald Mountain

Fourmile Canyon Fire, 2010

7


• 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

• 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

1. Federal Register (as of January 4, 2001)2. 2005 Census (ESRI)3. SERGoM (Spatially Explicit Regional Growth Model)

version `12 June 2008 (Theobald) 100m

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

Water and safetyNatural and economic resources

4. CDPHE, 20095. Colorado State Forest Service and The Nature

Conservancy. 2009. Colorado Statewide Forest Assessment (in preparation).

6. LANDFIRE, 2006 (Includes PJ and shrubs)

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

7. ESRI, 20078. TIGER: USCB. 20069. Ventyx, December 200910. FAA, 2009

8


The Front Range Roundtable

Overlap of goals

Fire Risk Mitigation Goals

Ecological Restoration Goals

~400,000 acres

~400,000 acres

~700,000 acres

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.

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.”

Mission

9


Source: Map by USFS-ARP

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.

10


Treatment Accomplishments by County as of 2009 vs. 2006 Roundtable Recommendations

Front Range Roundtable

county

Roundtable priority areas as

of 2006

Acres treated anywhere in

County (2004-2008)

Acres treated in Roundtable

priority areas% of priority acres treated

% of treatments outside

Roundtable priorities

Boulder 150,245 12,844 12,844 9% 0%

Clear Creek 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%

Teller 143,850 21,880 13,573 9% 38% TOTAL 1,426,925 129,888 80,122 6% 38%

Data underlying the monitoring map on the prior slide:

11


Progress Towards the Roundtable VisionDirect 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

3. Long term stewardships contracts: Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel (3,000 acres/yr for 10 years)

4. Increased federal funding for on the ground treatments: $1.8 mm more in 2008 than in 2006; $1 million in 2009 ARRA funds

5. Biomass utilization: bioheating in Gilpin, Boulder, and Park counties; planned in El Paso; 22 slash sites for private landowners across Front Range

6. CWPPs: 75 Front Range CWPPs approved (out of 151 completed in Colorado)

7. Policies: Passage of state legislation authorizing the creation of local Forest Improvement Districts

12


Progress Against 2006 Roundtable Recommendations

Set clear priorities and ensure progress against common goals

Ensure local leadership and planning

Reduce the cost of forest treatments

Increase funding for forest treatments

2006 Roundtable goals 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.

4. Increase appropriate application of prescribed fire and wildland fire use as a management tool.

5. Increase utilization of woody biomass for facility heating.

6. Increase contract sizes and durations with stewardship contracts on federal land.

7. Change local policy to limit the growth of fire risk in the Wildland-Urban Interface.

8. Promote the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans for Front Range communities-at-risk.

9. Adopt a clear and common framework for prioritizing treatments.

10. Convene follow-on Roundtable to ensure implementation of recommended initiatives.

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.

2011 “gut check”

B

B

Y

B

Y

B

P

Y

B

Y

P

April 2010OEO team analysis

Sept. 2009 “gut

check”

P

Y

Y

B

Y

P

B

B B

B

Y

B

G

B

P

B

G

R

R

G

Y

P

Significant progress made

Initial progress madeNeeds attention

B Some progress made

R No action taken

13


Roundtable Organization

1. The Front Range Roundtable is not itself a legal entity but an informal volunteer coalition with CUSP acting as fiscal agent. 2. Partner groups are separate from the Front Range Roundtable and have their own organizational structures and initiatives. 3. Project leader and fiscal agent for the CFLRP Monitoring Teams

Members

Executive Team

Facilitator

Community Protection (CP)

Team

Front Range Fuels Treatment Partnership (FRFTP)2

Northern Front Range Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group (NFRMPBWG)2

Colorado Watershed Wildfire Protection Working Group (CWWPWG)2

GuestsLandscape

Restoration (LR) Team

Biomass Utilization and

Slash Sites (BUSS) Team

Roundtable PartnersMixed teams

Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP)—Fiscal Agent)1

Funders

Boulder County National Forest FoundationClear Creek County USFS-ARDouglas County USFS-PikeGilpin County CSFSEl Paso County TNCJefferson County West Range ReclamationLarimer County RMRSPark County Denver WaterTeller County NRCS

Colorado Forest Restoration

Institute (CFRI) 3

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Wildlife Team


Executive Team Structure and Change Process

Current Executive Team Membership

Size: At least 6 or no more than 9 members4

Process for changing membership:

Only when there is a change in the leadership of

the organization shown

1. Three seats are dedicated permanently to these leadership positions from these organizations shown2. Two seats are dedicated to these stakeholder groups shown with the representing organization rotating each year, as desired3. One seat is dedicated for the fiscal agent of the Roundtable, one seat is for each of the two main working teams: the Community Protection Team and the Landscape

Restoration Team. 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

4. Membership size can very depending on the decisions of the Executive team and Roundtable needs / number of applicants

Dedicated to certain organizations1

Dedicated to certain stakeholder groups2

Open to other stakeholder groups3

Term ends Dec. 2012

15

Terms end May 2013

USFS-AR Supervisor

Glenn Casamassa

USFS-PSI Supervisor

Jerri Marr

CSFS State Forester

Joe Duda

Conserva-tion NGO

Paige Lewis, The Nature

Conservancy

County Commis-sioner—North

Cindy Domenico,

Boulder County

County Commis-sioner—South

John Tighe, Park County

Treasurer

Carol Ekarius,

Coalition for the Upper

South Platte

Landscape Restoration

Team Liaison

Pam Motley, West Range Reclamation

Community Protection

Team Liaison

Megan Davis,

Boulder County

Terms end or renew at end of June 2013


Front Range Roundtable Roles1. Propose strategic, organizational, and operational priorities for the Roundtable’s consideration

at Quarterly meetings2. In between Quarterly meetings, make decisions on behalf of the Roundtable as needed3. Approve agendas for Roundtable Quarterly meetings (proposed by Facilitator)4. Meet once each quarter between Quarterly Roundtable meetings

Executive Team

Working Teams

Facilitator1. Schedule, arrange, and facilitate Roundtable Quarterly meetings, Executive Team meetings,

and working team meetings2. Support working teams in achieving their goals by providing organizational, administrative, and

logistical support (e.g., keeping work plans) —not content or legwork3. Act as the central point of contact for all Roundtable internal and external communications

(e.g., email distribution list, website maintenance)

1. Execute on the Roundtable’s strategic goals, according to work plans developed jointly by the teams

2. Present progress updates at Quarterly Roundtable meetings3. Attend working team meetings as scheduled, typically two calls per month with some in

person meetings as determined by the team

Members1. Attend quarterly Roundtable meetings and, when required, approve or change proposals by

the Executive Team2. Share relevant announcements and updates to Quarterly Roundtable meetings; productively

contribute to discussions, honoring the obligation to dissent when necessary3. Volunteer for working teams if able and/or want to see something done by the Roundtable

16


Front Range Roundtable Participants Through the Years

Org Type OrganizationConservation ARP Foundation Coalition for the Upper South Platte

Conservation Districts and Colorado Geological SurveyForest Health Task Force

Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance

Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance

The Nature Conservancy The Wilderness SocietyCounty 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

EnergyColorado Renewable Resource Cooperative

Environmental Energy Partners Forest Energy Colorado Xcel EnergyPlanning American Planning AssociationRecreation Colorado Mountain ClubState gov't Colorado General Assembly

Org Type OrganizationFederal agency 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, ARPFederal gov't US House of Representatives Office of US Senator Bennet

InsuranceRocky Mountain Insurance Information Association

Local gov't

City of Fort CollinsColorado Municipal LeagueNorthern Colorado Water Conservancy DistrictCity of Woodland Park

Org Type OrganizationPrivate 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 DenverState 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 WildlifeTimber Colorado State Tree Farm Committee Colorado Timber Industry Association West Range ReclamationWater American Water Works Association City of Aurora Denver Water

~190 people from ~80 organizations are currently subscribed to email list (to join, see www.frontrangeroundtable.org “Sign Up”)

17


Front Range Roundtable 2012 Goals

Community Protection (CP) Team

Biomass Utilization and Slash Sites (BUSS) Team

1. Share information about biomass utilization developments across the Front Range (via monthly calls)

Landscape Restoration (LP) Team

1. Serve as the Front Range CFLR project multi-party monitoring group

2. Develop an adaptive management process and recommendations

3. Revise the June 2011 CFLR monitoring plan4. Assemble and inventory GIS and other data to facilitate

information sharing on Front Range forest research/fire history.

Executive Team1. Lead in forming a coalition to recommend policy

initiatives to limits fire risks in the WUI. 2. Lead the Roundtable to agree on a collaborative adaptive

management process3. Fundraise at least $50,000

18

2012 Goals

1. Delegated to Community Protection team2. Delegated to Landscape Restoration Team3. Main goal and purposeThis team has paid facilitation

Status as of Nov. 2012

• IM Team’s 2012 goals are in question: 1. Develop a project plan and attract funding for a

turn-key project around at least one of the highest priority landscape identified.

2. Update the Front Range 10-County map of completed treatments

1. Volunteer-led and facilitated

1. On track (new findings and methods)

2. On track (agreeing on narrative)

3. Deferred due to lack of capacity, but posting “addendums” on website for now

4. Deferred due to lack of capacityThis team has paid facilitation

Wildlife Team1. Prioritizing an abridged list of species to monitor from

the 2011 CFLRP Monitoring Plan, 2. Setting population trends for each target species

expected if forest restoration is achieved, and3. Recommending data collection and monitoring methods

for each target species given funding constraints and monitoring methods in use. calls)

1. Just launched in Nov. 2012, will have paid facilitation

1. Volunteer-led and facilitated

© 2012. all rights reserved. front range roundtable about the front range roundtable november 30,...

Documents

range forests

range roundtable definitions

acres of wildfire

acres of forest

limber pine

range life zones grassy

dry douglas fir upper

upper limit of lower