Fostering Fire Adaptation Work
Fire Adapted Colorado’s first-ever Social Network Analysis is complete and evaluates the health and impact of the FACO network. Graduate students at The Ohio State University, Harrison Fried and Jordan Inskeep, under the tutelage of Matthew Hamilton, PHD, in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, have completed their analysis and shared their findings: Evaluating FACO’s Network Health: Findings and Next Steps
In addition to evaluating connections among Coloraodo's fire adaptations professionals, the analysis also explores the impact of FACO’s programs on its membership. Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) interviews were conducted with a small number of FACO members during Autumn 2022. A larger REM exercise, along with a Member Awards Ceremony is being planned for a special FACO Member Social, on Tuesday, April 11th, prior to the Colorado Wildland Fire Conference kick-off on Wednesday morning. Read the full report here.
We're excited to have this baseline evaluation and to act on identified opportunities to strengthen our network in 2023!
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Ellis Thompson-Ellis, FACO Board Chair
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Growing Wildfire Adaptation: The Case of Two Rivers and FACO's new Chair, Ellis Thompson Ellis
Fire Adapted Colorado and our membership of wildfire resilience leaders in Colorado are growing in tandem. In the past several years, wildfire collaborative groups have coalesced around the state. FACO supports and follows these new partnerships; sharing example bylaws and Memorandums of Understanding, job descriptions for initial coordinators, providing one-on-one guidance and presentations, and facilitating early group meetings. Read more about how Two Rivers Wildfire Coalition is a great example of a burgeoning leader in community and landscape wildfire resilience supported by the FACO network.
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2023 FACO Board Members & Officers
At the January 11th, FACO Board Meeting, Ellis Thompson-Ellis, Community Outreach Specialist for the Grand Junction Fire Department, took the helm as FACO Board Chair, and Paul Cada, the Wildland Program Administrator for Vail Fire and Emergency Services has moved to the Vice-Chair role, while also continuing to assist with the office of Treasurer. Wildfire Adapted Partnership's, Executive Director, Ashley Downing continues to serve as Secretary. Rounding out the board of directors are Jim Webster, Boulder County Wildfire Partners, Bill Hahnenberg, retired USFS/BLM and NWCG Incident Commander, and Eagle County Wildfire Mitigation Specialist and Past FACO Chair, Eric Lovgren. Also, a very warm welcome to Dr. Sarah McCaffrey, one of FAC Net’s original research partners, and retired USDA Forest Service. We are looking forward to Dr. McCaffrey joining the Fire Adapted Colorado board in February. Lastly, Happy Trails to Pam Wilson, we wish you a joyous retirement and thank you for your many years supporting and mentoring us all!
We're also grateful for the continued support of our Network Members, Board of Directors, Agency Liaisons and CWFC Planning Team Members, who continue to support the FACO mission and vision and are working to improve outcomes for Colorado Communities. We Are Better Together
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Network Updates
Welcome  to the FACO network Upper South Platte Partnership!
Audrey Miles-Cherney serves as the Coordinator for the USPP Watershed. Since 2015, the Upper South Platte Partnership (USPP) has been working as a collaboration between government agencies (local, State, and federal), water providers, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and fire protection districts. Together, these partners share a vision of sustainable and resilient landscapes, healthy forests, proactive and engaged fire-adapted communities, with safe, effective, and efficient fire response and management in the Upper South Platte River HUC 8 watershed.
Other network member updates include Stephanie Buchanan, Program Specialist with Boulder County Wildfire Partners, Dylan Williams, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist with Douglas County, Einar Jensen Risk Reduction Coordinator with Evergreen Fire/Rescue, and Jonathan Paklaian, Executive Director ARWC.
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"Suppression is too late - Mitigation is the Emergency."
Jonathan Bruno, Chief Executive Officer for Coalitions and Collaboratives Inc and former FACO Board Chair shared an excellent blog post providing his answers to questions posed on a panel of National Mitigation Leaders at the Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy workshop in Asheville, N.C. in November, 2022.
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COSWAP - CYCA
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COSWAP - Colorado Youth Corps mitigation project
Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) and our accredited conservation service corps are keystone partners in the Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP). This partnership funds life-saving fire mitigation work in the Wildland Urban Interface while providing jobs and service opportunities to hundreds of young Coloradans. This video profiles a Southwest Conservation Corps crew protecting homes and drinking water outside Buena Vista, Colorado. | Jan 10, 2023 (w/Alison Lerch Wildfire Mitigation Program Administrator) 
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Officials Have Ignored the Warnings
A year after the deadly Marshall Fire drove thousands of Coloradans from their homes, the state’s densest communities aren’t preparing for the next climate-driven wildfire. | Wildfires in Colorado Are Growing More Unpredictable. Officials Have Ignored the Warnings. | SOURCE: ProPublica | Dec 27, 2022.
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Firms 'misinforming the public'
According to the study, one example is California-based public utility Pacific Gas & Electric, which has been found to be at fault for multiple wildfires due to equipment failure. The company didn’t disclose the risk of wildfires until after its risk and liability were publicly reported. | Study: Many firms in the West are ‘misinforming the public’ by not disclosing wildfire risks. | SOURCE: NPR for Northern Colorado | Jan 10, 2023.
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Last Resort Coverage?
State lawmakers are preparing to introduce a bill in the legislature that would create a quasi-governmental program offering basic home insurance to the growing number of Colorado homeowners who say they can’t get coverage from private companies because the risk of wildfire is growing. Colorado’s wildfire risk is so high some homeowners can’t get insured. The state may create last-resort coverage | SOURCE: The Colorado Sun Dec 30, 2022.
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2023 Legislative Session Items
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Special Sponsorship Opportunities
There are several Special Sponsorship Opportunities for the #2023CWFC. We're especially looking for sponsors to support student scholarships. The CSU Alpha Chapter of the Society of American Foresters reached out looking for registration support for young forestry and fire science students.
"As students studying natural resources and fire science, opportunities to learn more about wildland fire from professionals and make connections within the industry are extremely valuable. Some of us have already gained experience as wildland firefighters and know the narrow, immediate response to wildfire, but we are seeking to gain an understanding of the bigger picture and vision for the future in wildfire management. We hope to gain insight from this conference on what is currently happening in wildland fire, how to apply this to natural resource management, including fire mitigation, and how we can engage our communities in this undertaking." visit the conference website and see the Sponsor & Exhibitor section to support the Colorado Wildland Fire Conference.
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- January 23, 2023 | 1:00-2:30 | Virtual | FACO Member Call | Check Podio or other announcement for member meeting link
- January 26, 2023 | 1:00-3:30 | Virtual | Colorado Resiliency Summit | Register Here
- January 30 & February 2, 2023 | 11:00-12:00 | Virtual | Forest History Society | Register for Jan 30th An Introduction to Carbon Markets and Feb 2nd Conserving America's Forests with Carbon Revenues
- February 14, 2023 | 9:00AM - 12:30PM | Virtual | Colorado Rx Fire Council Meeting | Contact Mike Babler for more information
- February 14-16, 2023 | Loveland, CO | In-Person | Colorado Emergency Management Conference | Details Here
- February 27-28 | Boulder, CO | Cost: $40 | Building a FAC Ambassador Approach Workshop | Apply to attend
- March 28-30 | Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada | IAFC | Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Conference
- March 20-21 | Fort Collins, CO | In-Person | Cost $450 | The Ember Alliance Leading the CWPP Process
- April 10-11, 2023 | Fort Collins, CO | In-Person | COCO | Community Wildfire Mitigation Best Practices pre-conference workshop | Apply to attend
- April 11, 2023 | Fort Collins, CO | In-Person | FACO | FACO Member Social and Ripple Effects Mapping Exercise at the CWFC
- April 12-13, 2023 | Fort Collins, CO | In-Person | Cost $375 | CWFC | Colorado Wildland Fire Conference Main Event; with post-conference Pourde Watershed tour April 14
- May 2-4, 2023 | Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO | Cross-Boundary Landscape Restoration Workshop | Adapting to a Climate-altered West | Register here
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Colorado State Forest Atlas
The Colorado Forest Atlas is a web portal providing a suite of interactive mapping applications portraying information about Colorado’s forests. These applications provide Colorado citizens the best available information about forest conditions and Colorado State Forest Service activities. The Forest Atlas is designed to satisfy the mission of the Colorado State Forest Service by providing easy access to this information. Applications are organized to best meet public information demands. Learn More About The Forest Atlas
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Prioritizing Access and Functional Needs in Emergency Planning and Wildfire Response
Gabe Kohler and FAC Net Staff have published a new blog about Access and Functional Needs during Wildfire, available on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network website | Jan 12, 2023
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