Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet surveyed damage to a watershed that flows into Grand Lake and the Blue Ridge prescribed burn area in Grand County yesterday with representatives from Northern Water, Colorado River District, the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Grand County, the Town of Grand Lake, Three Lakes Watershed Association, Middle Park Conservation District, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Bennet recently re-introduced his Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act to create jobs in the outdoors by investing in forest and watershed restoration. His proposal was included in President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan.
The Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act promises to provide direct support to local, collaborative efforts to mitigate wildfire, restore habitat, and expand outdoor access. It also promises to restore areas at high-risk of wildfire, with high priority wildlife habitat, or in
the wildland-urban interface––where homes and businesses meet wildland vegetation––to build climate resilience in the West.
“Last year, Colorado faced the three largest wildfires in state history. Across the country the threat of wildfire is growing, which comes at a terrible cost for communities like Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs in Grand County,