The City of Boulder has been awarded a three-year grant to fund an innovative project that combines wildfire risk reduction strategies on public and private land to better protect communities in the Wonderland Lake area.

BOULDER, Colo. – The City of Boulder has been awarded a three-year Strategic Fuels Mitigation Grant (SFMG) from Boulder County, funding an innovative project that combines wildfire risk reduction strategies on public and private land to better protect communities in the Wonderland Lake area.

The grant will support a suite of proven wildfire mitigation efforts, including cattle grazing, perimeter mowing, the removal of juniper trees from Parks and Recreation lands, and additional risk reduction activities in natural areas. For the first time, this project will also extend to private properties adjacent to city land, advancing landscaping upgrades (such as home hardening and defensible space improvements) at the community scale.

“This project represents a true cross-boundary approach that unites a full spectrum of wildfire mitigation strategies into one coordinated effort,” said Paul Dennison, Wildland Fire Senior Program Manager with the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks. “By aligning work across city departments and partnering with residents, we can reduce wildfire risk more effectively than any one group could achieve alone.”

The first phases of work will begin this winter in the Wonderland Lake area, building on recent city-led grazing and mowing projects in the area. Over the next three years, Boulder will expand mitigation activities, treating additional open space areas, managing hazardous vegetation in communities, promoting home hardening, and building cross-boundary resilience.

Other cross-boundary projects are underway in communities adjacent to city-managed land, including areas surrounding the Academy Mapleton senior care facility, and the Sans Souci Mobile Home Community. If these projects are successful, the city will aim to replicate this model across other high-risk areas.

The city will continue to update the community on projects that are identified within the SFMG grant over next three years. The ultimate goal: to bring Boulder closer to being fully mitigated by combining land management, home hardening, and neighborhood defensible space.

Wildfire resilience in the City of Boulder is a shared responsibility. The Boulder County SFMG program will allow the city to carry out programs and projects that complement the city-wide Wildfire Ready Initiative which brings together projects identified within the CWPP and other city plans that prioritize wildfire resilience projects and programs.

You can find more information about cattle grazing and numerous other projects and programs that are helping to reduce our wildfire risk at bouldercolorado.gov/WildfireReady.

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