(1) Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby:
(a) Finds that:
(I) The forest health advisory council was created pursuant to House Bill 16-1255 within the Colorado state forest service to provide a collaborative forum to
advise the state forester on a range of issues, opportunities, and threats with
regard to Colorado's forests;
(II) Since then, the council has met regularly to develop forest health
priorities and recommendations, provide early and ongoing input on the
development of the forest action plan, and convene discussions on issues such as
landscape-scale planning, prescribed fires, watershed health, federal funding, and
other topics; and
(III) During the 2020 fire season, Colorado experienced its three largest
wildfires in recorded history, with wildfires statewide burning over six hundred
twenty-five thousand acres and costing at least two hundred eighty-five million
dollars to suppress; and
(b) Determines that:
(I) The challenges facing Colorado's forests, from invasive species to wildfire
activity, have become increasingly serious and complex;
(II) The trend towards larger, more destructive, more frequent wildfires is
expected to continue in the years to come as a result of historical fire suppression
practices and ongoing climate-change-induced shifts in weather conditions and
forest health; and
(III) Investments in forest health and wildfire mitigation help avoid more
expensive fire suppression and recovery costs and provide multiple benefits to
individuals as well as society, including protection of lives and property,
watersheds, wildlife habitat, livelihoods, and air quality; carbon sequestration; and
opportunities for recreation and solace; and
(c) Declares that:
(I) As the issues related to forest health and wildfire mitigation have evolved,
so has the manner in which the state seeks to address them, and creating a
Colorado forest health council within the department of natural resources to report
to the governor and the general assembly is the most effective and integrated
structure through which to do so; and
(II) Establishing the Colorado forest health council serves the interest of the
state and local communities in developing effective strategies for forest health and
wildfire mitigation.
(2) Council created. There is hereby created within the division of forestry in
the department of natural resources the Colorado forest health council, referred to
in this section as the council, to provide a collaborative forum to advise the
governor and general assembly on a broad range of issues, opportunities, and
threats with regard to Colorado's forests.
(3) Membership. (a) The council consists of the following twenty-six
members:
(I) The following ex officio members or there designees:
(A) The executive director of the department of natural resources, who is the
chair of the council;
(B) The state forester appointed pursuant to section 23-31-207;
(C) The director of the division of fire prevention and control appointed
pursuant to section 24-33.5-1201;
(D) The regional forester or deputy regional forester for the United States
forest service region 2;
(E) The forestry program lead for the federal bureau of land management in
Colorado;
(F) The state conservationist for the natural resources conservation service
in the United States department of agriculture;
(II) The following members appointed by the governor:
(A) An employee of the Colorado office of economic development created in
section 24-48.5-101 with a leadership role and expertise in outdoor recreation;
(B) One member who is an enrolled member of a tribe that has a reservation
within Colorado;
(C) Four county commissioners, two of whom must represent a county west
of the continental divide and two of whom must represent a county east of the
continental divide;
(D) One member who is employed or associated with a forest collaborative
organization;
(E) One member who is a forest scientist or is employed in a forest research
position and has climate science expertise;
(F) One member who is employed by a research institution and who has
forest policy expertise;
(G) Two members employed by a water supplier, including a municipal
drinking water supplier and an irrigation water supplier, one of whom must reside in
a county west of the continental divide and one of whom must reside in a county
east of the continental divide;
(H) One member who is employed by or associated with the timber industry;
(I) One member who is employed by or associated with a conservation
organization;
(J) One member who is employed by or associated with the insurance
industry;
(K) One member who is employed by a public utility that owns or operates
transmission facilities;
(L) One member who owns a ranch and owns grazing rights on public lands;
(M) One member who is employed by or associated with a wildlife
organization; and
(N) One member who is employed by or associated with an organization that
advocates for motorized recreation; and
(III) Two members of the general assembly, including a majority and minority
representative from the wildfire matters review committee, one appointed by the
president of the senate and one appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives;
(b) The term of each council member is five years; except that the terms of
council members appointed pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(II) of this section is three
years.
(4) Powers and duties. (a) The mission of the council is to improve forest
health in Colorado through an integrated, science-based, statewide approach
focused on collaboration among federal, state, and local governments, and private
and nonprofit partners, to mitigate wildfire, restore ecological health, safeguard
communities and water supplies, mitigate and adapt to climate change, support
local economies, and protect recreational settings, as appropriate, across all
jurisdictional boundaries.
(b) In furtherance of its mission, the council shall engage in at least the
following activities:
(I) Making recommendations for forest health and wildfire mitigation
capacity building and funding;
(II) Development of, and recommendations for, attaining a thirty-year vision
for forest health in Colorado, including developing goals and both annual and multi-year recommendations for actions to improve forest health and reduce fire risk
through increased funding and capacity building;
(III) Landscape-scale planning to identify state-level priorities for forest
restoration, wildfire risk reduction, and related management; key barriers inhibiting
the achievement of those priorities; and solutions to overcome those barriers;
(IV) Monitoring trends related to forest ecosystem health, including those
related to climate adaptation, and advising on opportunities for state-level action;
(V) Monitoring and identifying opportunities to support and promote synergy
across forest-based collaboratives in the state, including coordinating state
funding sources and sharing best practices;
(VI) Identification of strategies for building sustained capacity to conduct
forest restoration and wildfire mitigation work at scale through collaboration
across multiple agencies, organizations, and jurisdictions; public-private
partnerships; innovative public and private funding vehicles; shared stewardship;
and other solutions, with emphasis on leveraging and maximizing the impact and
reach of state funding;
(VII) Identification of workforce development challenges and opportunities,
as well as potential regional and statewide economic benefits, associated with a
significant increase in wildfire mitigation and forest restoration activities;
(VIII) Development and support of solutions to manage and utilize woody
material produced by mitigation work, including consideration of climate change
and ecological impacts;
(IX) Development of legislative and regulatory recommendations for policies
that could support wildfire mitigation and forest restoration goals; and
(X) Providing technical expertise and recommendations to inform the
general assembly, the executive branch, and federal and local agencies on forest
health and wildfire mitigation issues.
(5) Staff support. The division shall provide office space, equipment, and
staff services as may be necessary to implement this section.
(6) Reports. At a minimum, the council shall annually brief the wildfire
matters review committee created in section 2-3-1602 and submit an annual report
to the governor.
(7) Repeal. This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2026. Before the
repeal, this section is scheduled for review in accordance with section 2-3-1203.