In Colorado, our forests are fundamental to our way of life – from clean water to stunning vistas. About 80% of residents rely on forested watersheds for their water supply and nearly half live in the wildland urban interface. But climate change is creating hotter and drier conditions that pose a growing threat across our state.
As Governor, Michael will bring nearly two decades of experience working on forest and wildfire issues alongside federal land management agencies, counties and municipalities, utilities, agriculture, and business. Through these relationships, he will lead a comprehensive response to our challenge by (1) strengthening wildfire defense, (2) improving response and recovery, (3) restoring Colorado’s forests and watersheds, (4) growing the forest economy, and (5) building the wildfire workforce.
At a time when the Trump Administration is stripping funding and cutting staff, we cannot assume a collaborative federal partner to manage our forests. Michael will build on the success of Colorado’s existing wildfire and watershed protection efforts and strengthen collaboration with local and federal partners to reduce wildfire risk, protect our water supplies, and grow our economy.
Strengthen Wildfire Defense. More than 321,000 Colorado homes face moderate or higher wildfire risk, with an estimated reconstruction cost of ~$141 billion. As a result, demand for wildfire mitigation resources far outpaces available funding, and home insurance costs continue to rise. Michael will:
- Expand Tools for Homeowners and Local Governments. Michael will expand the tax deduction for wildfire mitigation, making sure critical activities are covered. He will also expand grant opportunities and tax breaks for homeowners looking to harden and fireproof existing structures in the wildland urban interface. He’ll support local governments planning for wildfire resilience and align state resources to complement local resources and incentives. Finally, he will make sure residents can find and access the resources and professionals they need to live wildfire ready.
- Demand Affordable Insurance Options. Wildfire risk is driving up the cost of home insurance, with premiums in Colorado increasing nearly 60% over the past five years and now ranking among the highest in the country. As Governor, Michael will work with other western leaders to push the insurance industry to recognize individual and community-level mitigation measures, such as home hardening, retrofitting, and defensible space. When utilities or communities complete wildfire mitigation, he’ll make sure the insurance industry accounts for these risk reduction activities. And he’ll work with the state legislature to stabilize the marketplace so that Coloradans living in high risk areas can access affordable home insurance options.
Improve Response and Recovery. Wildfire is now a defining feature of life in Colorado. Four of the five largest fires in Colorado’s history have occurred in the last 5 years. And the 2022 Marshall Fire was the most destructive in Colorado’s history, damaging over 1,100 homes. As Governor, Michael will set Colorado’s state government up to support communities as they respond to this new reality. Michael will:
- Establish a Wildfire Intelligence Hub. Colorado has a strong aerospace, innovation, and technology ecosystem. Working with, and building on the efforts of, local leaders, Michael will establish a state Wildfire Intelligence Hub to integrate camera, satellite, overflight, weather, forest health, treatment, and community resilience data. He’ll make sure this information is appropriately shared with local governments, federal partners, water managers, utilities, and first responders to manage and prioritize limited resources. He will ensure the Hub doesn’t just help detect and respond to wildfires, but also helps predict and protect against post-fire damage.
- Streamline Post-Fire Recovery. Michael has helped Colorado recover from the largest and most devastating fires in the state’s history. From these experiences, he knows that when disaster hits, Colorado communities are left looking for help from a complicated bureaucracy that too often leaves time-sensitive work undone. As Colorado prepares for a future with more frequent fire, Michael will simplify and streamline the recovery process for Colorado communities, giving them a single state point of contact, dedicating resources for rapid response, and cutting red tape to address local needs as quickly as possible. Michael will also invest in local and regional capacity to support wildfire recovery, and encourage communities to rebuild with resilience in mind.
Restore Healthy Forests and Watersheds. Over 2.4 million acres in Colorado, across federal and non-federal land, are in urgent need of treatment to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, restore wildlife habitat, and protect watersheds. Working with local partners, and building on existing efforts, Michael will focus on treating the highest priority landscapes to improve public safety and water security, guided by the best available science. Michael will:
- Secure New Resources. The shared cost to treat 2.4 million high priority acres is estimated at over $4 billion. As the federal government cuts budgets and staff, Michael will bring together a statewide coalition to secure new resources to improve the condition of our forests and watersheds. He’ll work with business, utilities, philanthropic leaders, and local governments to explore new public-private partnerships and creative financing mechanisms, such as bonding or improved special district authorities. And he will deploy these new resources where they are most needed to protect communities, infrastructure, water supplies, and our economy.
- Accelerate Strategic Restoration. As Governor, Michael will update 2020 Colorado’s Forest Action Plan and ramp up shared stewardship efforts with the U.S. Forest Service to tackle the growing insect and disease outbreaks in Colorado. He will strengthen collaborative management, such as through Good Neighbor Authority, and encourage local expertise and initiative to drive forest planning and management decisions. Michael will support pre-project planning and expedite permitting for multi-benefit restoration projects in high priority areas. And he will streamline the application and funding process for state forest and watershed health grants. Working with local stakeholders, including farmers and ranchers, Michael will support nature-based practices that improve watershed health and riparian ecosystems.
- Partner to Protect Water Resources: Healthy, high country forests act as natural reservoirs for Colorado’s water supplies. When those landscapes burn, sediment, nutrients, and contaminants are delivered into rivers and reservoirs, threatening drinking water and critical infrastructure, and driving up costs for downstream communities. As Governor, Michael will encourage strategic pre-wildfire planning, such as through the Wildfire Ready Watershed Program. He will build on successful partnerships with communities to identify risks early and deploy targeted restoration actions—such as erosion control, riparian stabilization, and meadow rehabilitation—to protect source water, accelerate recovery, and reduce long-term impacts.
Grow Colorado’s Forest Economy. Colorado’s wildfire challenge will require robust local forest product markets to reduce the cost of mitigation efforts. Currently, our forest product industry is hamstrung by limited processing capacity and aging infrastructure. Michael will prioritize maintaining a resilient forest product industry across our state to support forest health and wildfire goals. Michael will:
- Spur Innovation and Support Business: Michael will ensure the state is helping to grow much needed primary and secondary forest product markets; from lumber production and mass timber manufacturing to biomass energy and biochar. He’ll expand support for businesses across the forest product supply chain—from mills to manufacturers – and help wildfire mitigation companies address workforce and insurance challenges.
- Promote the Use of Local Wood: Mass timber buildings are going up in Colorado, but nearly all projects rely on wood manufactured outside of our state. Michael will remove barriers to using Colorado wood products in Colorado by reducing up-front costs, addressing infrastructure gaps, and building a year round wildfire workforce. And he will encourage builders and developers to incorporate Colorado wood products into their plans.
Build the Wildfire Workforce. Michael knows that all of this critical work, from mitigation and restoration to response and recovery, cannot happen without a strong and well-equipped workforce. As Governor, Michael will work with the public and private sectors, unions, and educators to build the year round workforce we need for a hotter and drier future. Michael will:
- Expand Mitigation and Restoration Opportunities. Colorado’s wildland firefighting capacity relies on strong partnerships with local jurisdictions. Looking ahead, Colorado will need not just more firefighters, but also capacity to undertake significant wildfire mitigation, watershed restoration, and forest health activities. Michael will expand opportunities for local fire departments and first-responders to train for and undertake proactive wildfire risk reduction and forest restoration activities, such as creating defensible space and prescribed burns. And he will improve coordination with the federal government, so that if our firefighters are not deployed, they’re completing important mitigation work here in Colorado.
- Good Paying Jobs for the Next Generation. Michael will launch a Wildfire Workforce Initiative to build a year round workforce for structure hardening, wildfire response, forest health, and the forest product economy. He will partner with conservation corps on watershed restoration projects, work with schools to ensure that every high school kid can explore outdoor jobs, and support job training and apprenticeship programs that train the next generation of loggers, technicians, wildland firefighters, roofers, and carpenters. The Wildfire Workforce Initiative will not only build a vital workforce, but also protect the Colorado we know and love.
