Reference Document #1: Program Overview - Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
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Reference Document #1: Program Overview
Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
The West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC) promotes wildfire risk reduction, adaptation action, and
wildfire preparedness throughout Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel
counties.
WRWC’s Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program (VMCSP) offers technical assistance and cost-
share reimbursement funding to reduce vegetative fuels (trees and shrubs) on a property.
APPLYING FOR COST-SHARE FUNDING
Eligible applicants must be within Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel counties.
Project applications that align with the following Program Priorities will be given consideration:
• Projects that create defensible space to improve survivability of residential dwellings, improve
ingress/egress for the people living in those dwellings, and improve safety for first responders.
• Projects that mitigate risk to critical, ‘life-line’ and community-scale infrastructure such as (but not
limited to) infrastructure associated with emergency ingress/egress, energy delivery, water delivery,
telecommunications and other associated infrastructure that provides critical services for more than a
single residence.
• Projects that mitigate risk to critical natural resources and ecosystems, especially those natural
resources and ecosystems that provide (a) critical ecosystem services or are (b) currently vulnerable to
wildfire impacts and the proposed project has the potential to effectuate tangible and scale-appropriate
changes that would result in the reduction of risk to these resources.
• Projects that mitigate risk to other structures that are not considered residential dwellings.
In order to apply for cost-share funding you must complete a Site Visit with a West Region Wildfire
Council Wildfire staff first. During the Site Visit, WRWC staff will review multiple wildfire risk elements
including home hardening and vegetation management and will also determine your eligibility for the
Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program based on the specific needs of your property.
After the Site Visit, fill out and return a current version of the West Region Wildfire Council’s Vegetation
Management Cost-Share Program Application. You can obtain an application from a WRWC staff or from
www.cowildfire.org/cost-share/.
WRWC uses grant funding to reimburse landowners the awarded amount. All applicants will be
responsible for providing matching funds (out-of-pocket cost) for their project. Landowners are required to
pay for the full project cost once the contractor has completed the work and the landowner will then be
reimbursed with partial funding by WRWC once all final reimbursement paperwork has been received.
See Reference Document #3: Cost-Sharing for more information about how cost-share rates are
determined.
In 2022, applications will undergo review for funding in two “batched” periods, Batch A and Batch B. The
application deadlines are as follows:
• Batch 22-A is Friday, July 1st, 2022
• Batch 22-A is Friday November 4th, 2022
See Page 2 about the Steps of Applying for funding.
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Reference Document #1: Program Overview
Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
The first steps are to submit your Program Application and for your assigned Project Administrator to
submit a Project Proposal to WRWC. The application accompanied by your Project Proposal will be
reviewed by WRWC for funding pre-allocation after the close of each batching period. During this
process there are three possible outcomes:
1. Your Project Proposal is APPROVED- your Project Proposal fully meets the VMCSP criteria and WRWC
currently has available cost-share funding to support your project. Next steps in moving the mitigation
project forward can begin immediately.
2. Your Project Proposal is PENDING- your Project Proposal fully meets the VMCSP criteria but WRWC does
NOT currently have available cost-share funding to support your project at that time. WRWC will make a
commitment to seeking funding support for your project in upcoming grant proposals, but the timeline for
acquiring funding may extend a year or more.
3. Your Project Proposal is DENIED- your Project Proposal does not meet the VMCSP criteria.
The diagram below outlines steps for Batching Periods in 2022.
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Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
PROJECT ADMINISTRATION and SCOPE OF WORK DEVELOPMENT
After your Site Visit with WRWC and your Program Application has been received, you will be assigned a Project
Administrator. WRWC partners with the Colorado State Forest Service to provide technical services. Either a
WRWC Mitigation Forester or CSFS Forester will become your Project Administrator.
Your Project Administrator will submit a Project Proposal to WRWC for funding review (as described above).
Once your project is APPROVED, your Project Administrator will complete necessary field work (flagging
project boundaries, painting and/or flagging selected trees and shrubs) for your project. When your Project
Administrator visits your property to complete the field work it is important for you to discuss your project
goals and expectations with him/her to ensure you are in complete understanding of what is being proposed
on your property. This is also the time to let your Project Administrator know if you would like to keep any
firewood or other wood products from your mitigation project. Please note, we generally allow landowners
to retain up to 5 cords of firewood from their mitigation project. In general, no stumpage payments will be
made to landowners for firewood or any other wood products that contractors remove and/or sell from your
mitigation project.
After the field work is complete, your Project Administrator will develop a Project Map and Scope of Work
(SOW) for your project that will explain exactly how and to what standard your project needs to be
completed by a hired contractor in order for you to receive your reimbursement. Again, it is important that
you have discussed your project with your Project Administrator so your goals can be incorporated into the
Scope of Work.
PROJECT ADMINISTRATION SERVICE COSTS
WRWC and CSFS charge administrative services fees to develop a Project Map, Scope of Work, complete
field work, solicit and acquire contractor bids, administer the project, and oversee contractor performance.
These service fees are additional and are not eligible for cost-share reimbursement. Project Administrators
will provide you with a cost estimate for these services. If you did not receive this, please ask your Project
Administrator about these service fees.
PROJECT TIMELINE
Project completion varies from project to project. From the initial Site Visit, some projects can be completed
within a few months and others may take longer. The timeline depends on several factors including funding
availability, Project Administrator availability, contractor schedules, weather, time of year, and other
operational considerations such as insect and/or diseases.
Typically, once a project has been funded and shown to contractors we ask that the contractors finish the
project within 120 days of starting the work though some projects are given a longer completion deadline
depending upon circumstances. A project deadline date will be listed on your Award Agreement, and this is
the final date a contractor has to complete the project, typically set due to funding constraints.
CONTRACTOR BIDDING
In most cases, projects funded through the Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program will be included in
a Project Showcase for Contractors. WRWC encourages participants to be included in a Showcase as they
typically result in a more competitive bidding process. Your Project Administrator will discuss this with you.
If your project is included as part of a Showcase, your Project Administrator will submit your SOW to
WRWC to be included in a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP is advertised to area contractors and
WRWC and you Project Administrator will host a Project Showcase to invite a group of contractors to view
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Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
and bid on multiple projects on the same day, including yours. After the Project Showcase, contractors will
submit their bids to WRWC and the bids will be sent to you. You have one month to select which contactor
you would like to hire however each contractor will list a ‘bid validity’ date on their bid and selecting a
contractor as quickly as possible is beneficial to the overall process. If your project is not part of a Project
Showcase, WRWC will set a selection date for you based on bid submission. If you decide, for whatever
reason, not to include your project in a Contractor Showcase, you are responsible for obtaining contractor
bids and this should be discussed with your Project Administrator.
SELECTING A CONTACTOR
Once your project has been shown to contractors, they have one week to submit bids to WRWC. WRWC will
collect all of the bids from various contactors and send them to you for consideration within another week.
The three lowest bids will also be processed through WRWC’s Award Calculator to determine the cost-
sharing percentages for those bids. If you would like to consider other bids you can ask WRWC to process
them as well.
You will have a chance to review the bids and select which contractor you would like to hire to complete the
work. You are NOT obligated to select the lowest bid. We strongly encourage you to review all the
information that is provided on the bid sheet and make a selection based on who you think is the best fit for
your project. You can discuss contactor selection with your Project Administrator if you need further advice.
Once you have made your selection, you must notify WRWC so WRWC can draft an Award Agreement. For
more information on making a selecting a contractor please see Reference Document #4: Selecting a
Contractor.
It is important to note that you are hiring the contractor directly. You can opt to have a verbal or written
agreement with the contractor. WRWC does not require that you have a written agreement with the
contractor, however WRWC can provide Contract template upon request, if desired.
SIGNING YOUR AWARD AGREEMENT & STARTING MITIGATION WORK
Once you have made your contractor selection and notified WRWC of that selection, they will draft an
Award Agreement for you to sign. This document will outline your financial obligations to the project and
will identify other terms and conditions you are agreeing to. Along with the Award Agreement you will
receive a Fuels Management Plan & Stewardship Recommendations, and a Seeding Program Participation
Form (if applicable).
After you sign and return your Award Agreement and other applicable documents, please call your selected
contractor to schedule the work or talk with your Project Administrator about coordinating the work with
your contractor.
If you and/or your contractor have any questions as the work progresses, please contact your Project
Administrator.
OTHER PARTY NOTIFICATION
It is your responsibility to ensure that proposed activities are in compliance with all applicable rules,
regulations, covenants, codes, restrictions, statutes, laws or any other legally binding matters that may
restrict or conflict with the proposed activities for the purposes of wildfire risk mitigation. At minimum,
we recommend that you speak with your neighbors, Home Owner Associations (HOA) or other governing
bodies to notify them of your plans to implement vegetation management on your property and it is
WRWC’s expectation that you, as the property owner, will be responsible for these communications. In
some cases, Home Owner Associations (HOA’s) require that they are notified before a homeowner can cut
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Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
trees and it is your responsibility to know your HOA regulations and make the proper notifications, if
applicable. Please note the Colorado Senate Bill 05-100 amended Part 1 of article 33.3 of title 38 of the
Colorado Revised Statute (38-33.3-106.5) pertaining to “Prohibitions contrary to public policy – patriotic or
political expression – emergency vehicles – fire prevention – definitions”. This amendment to state statute
means that homeowners association’s “shall not prohibit” a variety of activities, including the removal of
vegetation “…to create defensible space around a dwelling for fire mitigation…”. Please review CO SB 05-
100 for the full text.
FINAL COMPLIANCE INSPECTION & CONTRACTOR PAYMENT
This is a reimbursement program and, therefore, you are responsible for paying the contractor in full the
total project amount listed in your Award Agreement when the contractors work is complete. STOP!! DO
NOT pay your contractor until your Project Administrator has performed a Final Compliance Inspection
and has approved the work.
WRWC REIMBURSEMENT PROCESSING & PAYMENT
Once your Project Administrator has completed a Final Compliance Inspection of the project WRWC will
need to receive the following to process your reimbursement payment:
- Your Project Administrator needs to fill out a Final Compliance Inspection Form
- You need to pay your contractor the FULL PROJECT amount (listed on your Award Agreement)
- Once you have paid your contractor, your contractor needs to send WRWC a receipt of payment
showing balance due of $0.00 and marked “paid in full”.
- You need to pay your Project Administrator for the administrative services.
- You need to submit Final Reimbursement Paperwork and send to WRWC
Once all of these documents have been received you can expect a reimbursement check, sent to your mailing
address listed on your Program Application, typically within 15 business days.
REQUIRED ADDITIONAL WILFIRE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES
During your initial Site Visit, a WRWC Wildfire Mitigation Specialist will identify other vulnerabilities to
your home that are at risk during a wildfire. Home ignitions during a wildfire are often times caused by
ember showers and fire brands igniting flammable material within the Home Ignition Zone. Because of this,
the West Region Wildfire Council requires you to complete any applicable Home Ignition Zone Activities to
receive your Cost-Share Reimbursement. These activities include moving firewood piles, mowing grasses,
raking pine needles, and/or removing flammables from underneath elevated decking. These items will also
be inspected by the Project Administrator during a final compliance inspection when fuels mitigation work
is completed. You will need to indicate that you have completed these activities on your Final
Reimbursement paperwork.
POST-PROJECT MAINTENANCE
WRWC expects you to make a ‘good faith’ effort to maintain your fuels reduction project. Over time, treated
vegetation will regrow and your mitigated fire risk will return. By being proactive, you can easily maintain
your project. The heavy equipment and technical tree felling experience from your contractor that was used
to originally create your defensible space is not typically necessary or required for post project maintenance.
A simple set of pruning shears, a hand saw, or a weed-whacker can remove regenerating or encroaching
fuels. Post-project maintenance may also include applying seed to the treatment area or monitoring and
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Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program- 2022
treating non-native invasive plants in the treatment area. These activities will be identified in your
Stewardship Recommendations.
WRWC will be scheduling a follow-up project maintenance site visit two years after the completion of your
fuels reduction project to provide maintenance recommendations. WRWC will not require any
reimbursement payments to be returned for post-project maintenance reasons, however all participants
must be willing to participate in a post-project inspection and post a WRWC mitigation sign on their
property.
SEEDING PROGRAM
The West Region Wildfire Council offers the Seeding Program to Vegetation Management Cost-Share Program
participants, where applicable. The Reference Document #6: Project Seeding can provide more information about
the benefits of seeding your project area. Depending on the fuel type, topography, elevation, the presence/absence
of native ground vegetation of your project area, your Project Administrator may recommend you enroll in
WRWC’s Seeding Program. Post-fuels mitigation seeding through the Seeding Program is not mandatory, but we
strongly encourage you to participate if it is recommended. WRWC is able to reimburse you 50% of the cost of the
seed, up to $45 per acre. You will need to submit an invoice to the West Region Wildfire Council after the seeding is
complete in order to receive your seed cost reimbursement. Your Project Administrator can discuss this more with
you.
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