Media Contacts:
Leigh Robertson, Partnership & Collaboration DirectorWest Region Wildfire Council
970-626-8470
Leigh.robertson@COwildfire.org
Libby Collins, Project Manager
Colorado West Land Trust
970-263-5443libby@cowestlandtrust.org
Ridgway, CO.-- Many people worry about a catastrophic wildfire destroying their home. People want their loved ones and their community to be safe. Fortunately, some people and organizations are working to reduce risks from fires. A gorgeous 7-minute video showcases how Colorado landowners improved their land. They reduced their wildfire risk and that of a neighboring community. See their inspiring story here.
The Montgomery family, along with their relatives the Fick family, own 140 acres of land on Log Hill Mesa. The Fick family originally conserved the property with Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT) to preserve its spectacular natural beauty and wildlife habitat. Jay Montgomery was concerned about the health of the forest and habitat, as well as the risk of wildfire. He decided to consult with the West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC), Colorado State Forest Service, and CWLT. Jay shared his goals for the property with these partners.
Jamie Gomez, the Executive Director of WRWC called together a team of experts to evaluate a forest management project proposal. The team included a wildlife biologist, plant and weed specialists, fire experts, and others. Together, they provided feedback and recommendations on the project to meet Jay’s goals and improve the health of the land.
With funding from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Colorado State Forest Service, WRWC and CWLT completed the wildfire mitigation project to greatly enhance the forest’s resilience to severe wildfire. This fire break could help protect the nearby Log Hill community. The video shows how healthy and beautiful the land looks after the work was done. It also invites private landowners to inquire about opportunities to conduct strategic wildfire mitigation.
Ouray County Commissioner Jake Niece commented, “Great video! We talk about wildfire mitigation a lot, but most people have never personally seen it, and sometimes form impressions that are not accurate. This does a great job showing a mitigation project and explaining why it is important.”
West Region Wildfire Council provides free site visits to homeowners. Staff shows the homeowner ways to reduce wildfire risk to their home and property. WRWC also has a vegetation management cost-share program to provide a financial incentive for completing this work. This can help landowners to create defensible space, improve emergency access routes and create community fuel breaks. The nonprofit is also working on fundraising to cover all costs for low-income and underserved community members.
CWLT works with private landowners who have conserved their land to conduct stewardship projects through its Restoration & Resilience Program. This program promotes collaboration with private landowners to support healthy natural resources on their land that also enhance wildlife habitat, benefit watersheds, and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire across the landscape. “We assist interested private landowners with identifying appropriate technical resources and navigating new and existing funding opportunities. This helps them to address critical stewardship challenges, which often occur due to drought and changes in climate conditions,” states Libby Collins, project manager with Colorado West Land Trust.
About Colorado West Land Trust
Colorado West Land Trust, a private, charitable nonprofit organization, has conserved over 126,000 acres across six western Colorado counties (Delta, Gunnison, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel). Its mission is to protect and enhance agricultural land, wildlife habitat and scenic lands in western Colorado to benefit the community at large, enrich lives, provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, and ensure our connection to land for generations to come. For information about CWLT’s current conservation projects, please contact Libby Collins or Ilana Moir at 970-263-5443 and visit https://cowestlandtrust.org/.
About West Region Wildfire Council
WRWC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that has provided thousands of free wildfire risk assessments for homeowners. We’ve also helped fund defensible space projects on thousands of acres of private land. WRWC promotes and facilitates community wildfire adaptation while increasing ecological resilience to future wildfire. WRWC works with partners to coordinate and implement strategies to reduce wildfire risk in wildland urban interface (WUI) communities in Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel Counties in Colorado. For more information, please contact Leigh Robertson at 970-626- 8470 and visit https://cowildfire.org/.