Chaffee Common Ground Funding Recommendation June 1, 2021 Page 1 of 4

The Chaffee Common Ground Citizens Advisory Committee recommends $2,448,241 in awards to 18 recipients during the Spring 2021 grant funding cycle. Twenty applications requesting $2.92 million were received. The package includes $2,015,600 for forest health and wildfire resilience, $249,640 to sustain rural landscapes, and $183,001 for recreation management that protects watersheds and landscapes in Chaffee County. Matching cash and in-kind funds associated with these recommendations equal $10,529.35, bringing a potential $12,977,859.35 in investments to the community.

The following are the applications received with the amounts requested. Following each description, is the recommended funding.

Forest Health & Wildfire Resiliency

Monarch Pass Forest & Watershed Health Project $65,000 in 2021 to Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative (ARWC) to complete a 125-acre portion of the 2,809-acre U.S. Forest Service Monarch Pass Vegetation Management Project. Planned treatments are located on the lower slopes of Monarch Ridge near Monarch Park and both sides of US Highway 50 near Old Monarch Pass Road and Monarch Mountain ski area. ARWC’s mission is to serve Arkansas River Basin Communities by addressing locally identified watershed issues for economic, ecological and social benefit.

Ranked 6th Recommended Funding: $50,000 in 2021

Focused Fuels Reduction for Fire Ready Communities $300,000 over three years to Colorado State University/Colorado State Forest Service for 260 acres of wildfire risk reduction and forest restoration work in five locations: Broadview along Count Road 289; Three Elk’s community green space; Kiowa Road near Mesa Antero; County Road 325 south of Lost Creek Ranch; and Poncha Pass. Roadside thinning protects watersheds and structures; and improves emergency ingress for firefighters and egress for residents and visitors.

Ranked 7th (tied) Recommended Funding: $90,000 in 2021; $75,000 in 2022 and $50,000 in 2023

Chaffee Chips Fire-Adapted Communities $93,600 over 3 years to Chaffee County Fire Protection District to help provide a simple method for residents to dispose of wood slash to decrease wildfire risk. Chaffee Chips service areas are identified as high priority treatment areas by the Chaffee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) with approval by the Envision Forest Health Council. Funding pays for equipment rental and staff through 2023.

Ranked 7th (tied) Recommended funding $31,200 each year 2021, 2022 and 2023

Upper Arkansas Forest Fund $1,750,000, or $350,000 a year for 5 years, to the National Forest Foundation to leverage funding through the Upper Arkansas Forest Fund (UAFF) to conduct forest treatments in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. In Chaffee County, the UAFF will support forest treatments across 30,000 acres of priority areas identified by the community wildfire plan.

Ranked 3rd Recommended Funding: $130,000 in 2021; 160,000 in 2022; and $450,000 each year 2023. 2024 and 2025 contingent on raising $4 million new cash funds by 2023.

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Chaffee Front Fire Patrol $20,000 in 2021 to Chaffee County Fire Protection District to implement Chaffee Front Fire Patrol during the 2021 recreational season. The program targets dispersed camping areas to educate visitors about campfire safety and fire restrictions. Staff will ask violators for voluntary compliance and abandoned campfires will be extinguished and reported to the proper jurisdiction.

Ranked 13th Recommended Funding: $15,000 in 2021

Evaluating Wildfire Risk & Public Perceptions Mitigation Activities on Shavano Front $5,000 mini-grant to Chaffee County Fire Protection District for a collaborative wildfire risk assessment, data collection and education in the Shavano Front landscape.

Mini-grant Recommended Funding: $2,000 in 2021

Sustainable Agriculture

Bowen Ditch Maintenance Project $42,500 in 2021 to the ditch company to replace the head gate on Chalk Creek and the downstream aqueduct. The 14.5-mile ditch provides water to 1,020 acres of hay fields and supplements area aquifers that provide residential water.

Ranked 11th Recommended Funding: $42,500 in 2021

Sunnyside Park Ditch Rehab Project $100,000 in 2021 to the ditch company to install water pipe to eliminate leakage. The ditch runs along the Arkansas River for about two miles and irrigates land on both sides of Hwy 291 north of Salida, serving ranches that can be viewed from the Scenic Byway.

Ranked 10th Recommended Funding: $50,000 in 2021 and $50,000 in 2022

Upper Arkansas Watershed Agriculture Needs Assessment $25,000 over two years to the Upper Arkansas Conversation District (UACD) to conduct an agricultural needs assessment. The grant supports up to two part-time staff positions to coordinate landowner meetings, perform site visits, host workshops and provide reports to the planning team. UACD primarily covers Chaffee County as well as parts of Fremont, Saguache and Park counties.

Ranked 15th No funding recommended

Lewis Ranch Conservation Easement $260,000 in 2022 to Central Colorado Conservancy for a conservation easement protecting 191 acres of agricultural land and water rights near Poncha Springs on County Road 250. The ranch supplies beef for local buyers and sells cattle. Conservation of the ranch will protect wildlife habitat and scenic views.

Ranked 4th (tied) Recommended Funding: $100,000 in 2022 with an opportunity to return for additional funding if other funding such as GOCO are not available.

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Colorado Farm to Table Sustainability Farm Hand Position $5,000 mini-grant to Colorado Farm To Table Inc. to support a part-time farm hand on the historic and working Shine Farm, to manually control weeds that were previously managed chemically.

Mini-grant: Recommended Funding: $2,500 in 2021

SOIL Sangre de Cristo Monthly Speaker Series $3,815 mini-grant to SOIL Sangre de Cristo to continue producing a monthly speaker series about sustainable agriculture and ranching best-practice topics. SOIL Sangre de Cristo supports small farmers, ranchers and food producers while creating awareness of the connection of food from earth to table. SOIL is the acronym for Slow Opportunities for Investing Locally.

Mini-grant Recommended Funding: $1,000 in 2021

Securing a Future on the Land $3,640 mini-grant to Guidestone Colorado to improve the effectiveness of the organization’s Land Link database by recruiting more landowners to match with land seekers.

Mini-grant Recommended Funding: $3,640 in 2021

Recreation Management

Seasonal Closure Gates to Protect Wintering Wildlife $23,500 in 2021 to the Quiet Use Coalition (QUC) to install seasonal closure gates to protect wintering wildlife on seven U.S. Forest Service roads and five trails. QUC works to preserve and create quiet use areas on public lands and waters while protecting natural soundscapes and wildlife habitat.

Ranked 4th (tied) Recommended Funding: $23,500 in 2021

Chaffee Rec Rangers Pilot Program $44,200 over 2 years to the U.S. Forest Service Salida Ranger District to create seasonal staff positions for regular patrols to manage growth in use on public lands, thereby improving the recreational experience, reducing human-caused wildfire risk and minimizing negative impacts on natural resources and agricultural operations.

Ranked 1st (tied) Recommended Funding: $22,100 in 2021 and $22,100 in 2022

Lost Lake Management $70,000 in 2021 to USFS Salida Ranger District for trail relocation, parking lot installation, route decommissioning, habitat restoration and landscape improvements at Lost Lake in the Cottonwood Pass drainage.

Ranked 14th No funding recommended ‘ Material Collection for Dispersed Campground U Containment $16,000 in 2021 to Southwest Conservation Corps for a two-week chainsaw crew to collect lodgepole pine to be used for buck-and-rail campsite containment fencing.

Ranked 12th Recommended Funding: $8,000 in 2021

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Lands Volunteers in Action (LaVIA) $62,465 in 2021 and 2022 to the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA) for Chaffee Rec Adopters, a program that engages volunteers to monitor and steward dispersed camping sites in support of Chaffee Rec Plan management objectives.

Ranked 1st (tied) Recommended Funding: $26,357.50 in 2021 and $36,107.50 in 2022

Heritage Investigations for USDA Forest Service Camping Management Plan $40,000 over two years for the U.S. Forest Service to hire a contractor to complete a required Cultural Resource Investigation to advance the camping management plan as outlined in the Chaffee Rec Plan. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires federal agencies to do this preliminary work. The area included are all in Chaffee County.

Ranked 6th Recommended Funding: $20,000 in 2021 and $20,000 in 2022

Expand Wildlife Education $4,386 mini-grant to GARNA to create and enact place-based education, videos, presentations and materials to educate residents and visitors about wildlife and wildlife habitat.

Mini-grant Recommended Funding: $4,836 in 2021

Comments Concerning Multi-Year Funding

One of advantages of the Common Ground Funds is the dedicated funding source created with Ballot Initiative 1A in 2019. This allows us to commit future years’ funding, subject to annual appropriation, to projects that will take more than a single year, such as major fire mitigation projects, implementation of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and Conservation Easements. In the first round of funding we approved three significant conservation easements which are still in process. But committing the funding in advance allowed the Central Colorado Conservancy to obtain matching GOCO funds totaling $3 million. We anticipate the same will be the case with the future year funding for the Upper Arkansas Forest Fund.

Balance of Funding between the Funding Areas

This is the third round of funding recommended to the BoCC. With the funding recommended here and the previously approved funding the cumulative amounts awarded for spending in 2020, 2021 and 2022 are as follows:

Cumulative Total Appropriated Round 1, 2 and 3 As of 2021 As of 2022 Forest Health and Fire Resilience $ 1,425,940.00 53.5% $1,770,470.00 49.0% Sustainable Agriculture $ 974,524.00 36.6% $1,499,524.00 41.5% Recreation in Balance $ 263,864.30 9.9% $ 342,071.80 9.5% Total All Funds $ 2,664,328.30 100.0% $ 3,612,065.80 100.0%