Boulder County Forest Collaborative: Forest Health, Fire Mitigation, & Connecting Boulder County Networks
Partner: Fourmile Watershed Coalition
Group Members: Rachel Carlson, David Gillman, Nate Goeckner, Callie Rhodin
The purpose of this project is to decrease wildfire risk in Boulder County through improved coordination between various agencies on cross-jurisdictional, landscape-scale forest restoration and wildfire mitigation projects. One of the primary ways to accomplish this will be the creation of a GIS map that agencies both have access to and provide data for. The process is expected to be a challenge for some stakeholders, but the challenge will be mitigated by another goal of the project: establishing more open communication between partners. Breaking down the barriers of communication is crucial in order to minimize the lack of awareness agencies experience regarding wildfire mitigation work outside of their own agency. The MENV students will engage in a wide range of stakeholder facilitation and collaboration activities; will assist in writing grants; and may also have the opportunity to observe prescribed burns in the field.