(1) (a) The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that: (I) Community wildfire protection plans, or CWPPs, are authorized and defined in section 101 of Title I of the federal "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003", Pub.L. 108-148, referred to in this section as "HFRA". Title I of HFRA authorizes the secretaries of agriculture and the interior to expedite the development and implementation of hazardous fuel reduction projects on federal lands managed by the United States forest service and the bureau of land management when these agencies meet certain conditions. HFRA emphasizes the need for federal agencies to work collaboratively with local communities in developing hazardous fuel reduction projects, placing priority on treatment areas identified by the local communities themselves in a CWPP. The wildland-urban interface area is one of the identified property areas that qualify under HFRA for the use of this expedited environmental review process. (II) The development of a CWPP can assist a local community in clarifying and refining its priorities for the protection of life, property, and critical infrastructure in its wildland-urban interface area. The CWPP brings together diverse federal, state, and local interests to discuss their mutual concerns for public safety, community sustainability, and natural resources. The CWPP process offers a positive, solution-oriented environment in which to address challenges such as local fire-fighting capability, the need for defensible space around homes and housing developments, the effect of fire ratings and combustibility standards for building materials used in wildland-urban interface areas, and where and how to prioritize land management on both federal and nonfederal lands. CWPPs can be as simple or complex as a local community desires. (III) The adoption of a CWPP brings many benefits to the state and adopting local community, including: (A) The opportunity to establish a locally appropriate definition and boundary for the wildland-urban interface area; (B) The establishment of relations with other state and local government officials, local fire chiefs, state and national fire organizations, federal land management agencies, private homeowners, electric, gas, and water utility providers in the subject area, and community groups, thereby ensuring collaboration among these groups in initiating a planning dialogue and facilitating the implementation of priority actions across ownership boundaries; (C) Specialized natural resource knowledge and technical expertise relative to the planning process, particularly in the areas of global positioning systems and mapping, vegetation management, assessment of values and risks, and funding strategies; and (D) Statewide leadership in developing and maintaining a list or map of communities at risk within the state and facilitating work among federal and local partners to establish priorities for action. (IV) CWPPs give priority to projects that provide for the protection of at-risk communities or watersheds or that implement recommendations in the CWPP. (V) CWPPs assist local communities in influencing where and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands, how additional federal funds may be distributed for projects on nonfederal lands, and in determining the types and methods of treatment that, if completed, would reduce the risk to the community. (VI) The development of CWPPs promotes economic opportunities in rural communities. (b) By enacting this section, the general assembly intends to facilitate and encourage the development of CWPPs in counties with fire hazard areas in their territorial boundaries and to provide more statewide uniformity and consistency with respect to the content of CWPPs in counties needing protection against wildfires. (2) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "CWPP" means a community wildfire protection plan as authorized and defined in section 101 of Title I of the federal "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003", Pub.L. 108-148. (b) "Fire hazard area" means an area mapped by the Colorado state forest service, identified in section 23-31-302, as facing a substantial and recurring risk of exposure to severe fire hazards. (c) "Red zone" means a wildland-urban interface area of high wildfire risk in Colorado, identified by the red zone map originally created in September 2004 by the Colorado state forest service and periodically updated to show areas where a high risk of catastrophic wildfire endangers homes, communities, utilities, and watersheds. (3) Not later than November 15, 2009, the state forester, in collaboration with representatives of the United States forest service, the Colorado department of natural resources, county governments, municipal governments, local fire departments or fire protection districts, electric, gas, and water utility providers in the subject area, and state and local law enforcement agencies, shall establish guidelines and criteria for counties to consider in preparing their own CWPPs to address wildfires in fire hazard areas within the unincorporated portion of the county. (3.5) When a community within a red zone adopts or updates a CWPP, the community is encouraged to include, as an element of the CWPP, a plan for community-based and sustainable utilization of forest biomass for the production of energy, fuels, forest products, and other applications, developed in consultation with the Colorado state forest service. As part of the plan, the state forester or the state forester's designee may offer assistance to the communities in identifying, contracting for, and securing primarily from high-risk areas a reliable source of feedstock in support of forest products industries. (4) The adoption of a CWPP by a county government shall be governed by the requirements of section 30-15-401.7, C.R.S. (5) The state forester shall send timely notice of the guidelines and criteria established pursuant to subsection (3) of this section to the department of local affairs and to statewide organizations representing Colorado counties and municipalities and shall post such information on the website of the Colorado state forest service. (6) Nothing in this section affects section 23-31-309 or the wildfire preparedness plan developed pursuant to section 24-33.5-1227, C.R.S.
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