In Colorado, wildfire mitigation is nothing new. However, recent large federal funding cuts mean local and state protections become more crucial than ever before.
The threat of wildfires in Colorado has increased rapidly, with an alarming 438% spike between the 1990s and the 2020s. On top of this increase, Colorado wildfires are significantly expanding in size. The average wildfire size in the 1990s averaged 16,500 acres and has since increased to more than 208,000 acres on average.
Rising temperatures are increasing the wildfire risk nationwide, and trends suggest that the hazard will continue to rise in Colorado both in frequency and size. These trends underscore the importance of wildfire mitigation-focused funding and projects throughout the state. Hazard mitigation has become an essential topic impacting the wildfire landscape nationwide, and its importance is highlighted in each wildfire that burns through our cities and regions.
Federal funding cuts — such as those to FEMA’s hazard mitigation grants — have forced states to turn to local funding sources to implement wildfire mitigation measures. The Colorado State Forest Service plays a key role in supporting wildfire mitigation projects across the state.
Forest Restoration and Wildlife Risk Mitigation
Established by the Colorado Legislature in 2017, the Forest Restoration and Wildlife Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) grant program provides state-level funding through a competitive grant focused on community-level actions across Colorado. The purposes of these actions include:
- Reducing the risk of wildfire to people
- Property and infrastructure
- Promoting forest health and forest restoration projects
- Encouraging the use of woody material for forest products and biomass energy
Eligible projects include capacity building (such as equipment purchases, outreach efforts, and related staffing increases) and fuel and forest health projects (including creating or maintaining defensible space around homes and structures, removal of woody materials, restoring ecosystem function). FRWRM is an annual competitive grant program that adheres to cost-share requirements and requires county level coordination and support on projects.
Currently, there is $7.04 million in funding available for the 2025-2026 grant cycle, $2 million of which will be set aside for capacity building projects. Applications are due on Thursday, Oct. 9, with an anticipated project start date of March 31, 2026. Grantees will have four years to complete their projects.
The previous grant years funding deployed $7.04 million to 37 wildfire mitigation projects, $5.7 million of which focused on fuels reduction projects, with the remaining $1.3 million allotted for capacity-building efforts. Funding through FRWRM acts as a key source for the state to focus on mitigating wildfire damage, in turn protecting land, property, and life.
Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program
The Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) is another key source of wildfire mitigation funding for the state, provided through the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Created by the Colorado Legislature following the 2020 fire season, COSWAP supports wildfire risk reduction throughout the state to protect life, property, and infrastructure.
Grant funding from COSWAP is available in two forms: Workforce Development Grants and Landscape Resilience Investments. While the workforce grant focuses on increasing Colorado’s capacity of entry-level wildfire mitigation and forestry-related careers, the landscape investment grant funds projects that are strategically focused on landscape-scale fuels reduction projects.
Colorado Workforce Development Grants
Workforce Development Grants are split into three categories: Colorado Youth Corps Association Accredited Conservation Corps; Independent Conservation Corps, Department of Corrections’ State Wildland Inmate Fire Teams, and Workforce Development Training. Total funding amounts have ranged from $3.5 million to $5.9 million annually, with information regarding the 2025 funding amount and grant deadlines expected to be released in early September.
Landscape Resilience Investments
While information regarding the 2025 Landscape Resilience Investment program has not been shared, there was a special release of this funding in early 2025, providing $4.85 million in partnership with the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Wildfire Ready Watersheds program. This special release focused on the implementation of wildfire mitigation projects that also aim to protect critical water infrastructure within high-priority watersheds.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources remains committed to addressing wildfire mitigation in a holistic manner, through increasing capacity, funding well-developed projects, and continuously remaining up to date on strategies that protect the environment as a whole.
Wildfire Mitigation Efforts in Colorado
Through mitigation efforts, Colorado is focused on the intersection of wildfire and water. This is evident in the state’s efforts to implement source water protection, seeing wildfires as a large threat to source water, water quality, and drinking water. The Good Neighbor Authority (GNA), a program under the USDA Forest Service, allows states to partner with the USDA to complete critical work in managing the nation’s forests, keeping them healthy and productive.
Through this initiative, Colorado has received authorization to enact projects that focus on reducing wildfire risk while protecting watersheds and water supplies. Utilizing the capacity of watershed protection grants in Colorado for wildfire mitigation allows the state to achieve two critical objectives for the betterment of both local ecology and public health and safety. The intersection of these two crucial issues allows for the state to continue developing wildfire mitigation and water protection initiatives with the current local funding available.
Despite the ever-changing federal grant landscape, Colorado remains committed to prioritizing wildfire mitigation through state programs. Wildfire risk is an issue that will prove pertinent in years to come; however, addressing the issue before it happens ensures protection of land, property, infrastructure, and life.
Importance of Third-Party Grant Expertise in Colorado Wildfire Mitigation
As Colorado continues to face escalating wildfire threats and navigates shifting federal funding landscapes, the role of third-party environmental grant consultants becomes increasingly vital. These experts bring specialized knowledge, strategic planning capabilities, and on-the-ground experience to help communities maximize the impact of state-level programs like FRWRM and COSWAP.
By partnering with consultants like FirstCarbon Solutions (FCS), local governments, organizations, and landowners can ensure their wildfire mitigation projects are not only compliant with grant requirements but also tailored to the unique ecological and infrastructural needs of their region. In a time when proactive, well-informed action is critical, working with a trusted environmental consultant is a key step toward safeguarding Colorado’s landscapes, water resources, and communities.
