Editor:
I am very concerned about the lack of funding in the proposed 2014 budget for Montezuma County’s chapter of FireWise of Southwest Colorado. This position costs the county a tiny fraction of its entire budget but was responsible for bringing nearly $1 million in grant funding in 2012 to support wildfire risk reduction work being performed by individuals and subdivisions.
Surely the Weber Fire has not faded into memory nor the $50,000 in aid from outside the county that the chapter coordinator was able to obtain for private landowners to assist with their recovery efforts.
A coordinated approach to mitigation work by all rural landowners plays a vital role in making the county proactive against the very real, increasing threat of catastrophic wildfire as well as the growing hesitancy of insurers to cover provide coverage in areas they deem not worth the risk. I believe it would be a mistake to discontinue support for this program because of the wealth of timely information and access to additional resources it brings to Montezuma County citizens as well as the much-needed coordination it brings to the efforts of all of us to be prepared for wildfire. Rest assured, the financial resources available will go somewhere and unless Montezuma County has a voice and an active hand in requesting them, the county will be left out.
Dana Petersen, Mancos
