(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 wild land-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, 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 opportunity to study the effect of fire ratings and combustibility standards for building materials used in wildland-urban interface areas; (C) 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; (D) 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 (E) 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 and 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, C.R.S., as facing a substantial and recurring risk of exposure to severe fire hazards. (3) (a) Not later than January 1, 2011, the board of county commissioners of each county, with the assistance of the state forester, shall determine whether there are fire hazard areas within the unincorporated portion of the county. (b) Not later than one hundred eighty days after determining there are fire hazard areas within the unincorporated portion of a county, the board of county commissioners, in collaboration with the representatives of the organizations or entities enumerated in section 23- 31-312 (3), C.R.S., that established the guidelines and criteria, shall prepare a CWPP for the purpose of addressing wildfires in fire hazard areas within the unincorporated portion of the county. In preparing the CWPP, the board shall consider the guidelines and criteria established by the state forester and such representatives pursuant to section 23-31-312 (3), C.R.S. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a county that has already prepared a CWPP or an equivalent plan as of August 5, 2009, and, in connection with such preparation, considered the guidelines and criteria established by the state forester and designated representatives pursuant to section 23-31-312 (3), C.R.S., shall not be required to prepare a new CWPP to satisfy the requirements of this section.
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