Last month, members of the Big Thompson Watershed Health Partnership (BTWHP) gathered in the Waltonia and Pole Hill communities to see progress firsthand on several ongoing wildfire mitigation projects. The visit showcased the power of partnership in tackling wildfire risk at a truly landscape scale.
These projects—led by the Larimer Conservation District (LCD) and the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition (BTWC)—are funded in part through a Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation (FRWRM) grant awarded by the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) and administered by Peaks to People Water Fund. The FRWRM program supports fuels reduction, forest health, and the beneficial use of woody material on non-federal lands across Colorado. Because the grant is reimbursement-based, project partners regularly meet in the field with CSFS foresters and Peaks to People to assess progress and verify outcomes.
In 2025, partners completed two site visits—one in June and another in November—to review the significant work accomplished this year. Together, LCD and BTWC are implementing fuels reduction/forest restoration treatments across more than 450 private acres and the creation of 1–3 miles of roadway fuel breaks. Together with previous work on adjacent Forest Service and private lands, these efforts will create a connected, landscape-scale footprint of more than 3,000 acres of healthier forest.
Strategic Funding, Shared Goals
This collaborative project builds on a 2022 Colorado Strategic Wildfire Action Program (COSWAP) grant awarded to LCD and BTWC. COSWAP strategically invests in wildfire mitigation projects that reduce risk to communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
Additional funds have also been provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through their Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) as well as Northern Water and Peaks to People Water Fund through our partnership with The Nature Conservancy. This diverse pool of funding is enabling local organizations to increase the pace and scale of wildfire mitigation in the Big Thompson Watershed—protecting people, property, and critical water resources.
Community-Focused Work in Waltonia and Pole Hill
Both Pole Hill and Waltonia are high-priority areas identified through the Peaks to People Watershed Investment Tool and the Big Thompson Wildfire Ready Action Plan.
- In Pole Hill, LCD has been conducting forest treatments since 2017. The goal is to reduce hazardous fuels, improve stand resilience, maintain old-growth characteristics, and restore forests to healthier, pre-settlement conditions.
- In Waltonia, BTWC has been working closely with property owners to reduce fuel loads and improve the community’s single access road—critical for safe ingress and egress during emergencies. Waltonia’s location in a narrow canyon with steep, heavily forested slopes makes it one of the most fire-prone communities in the watershed. Treatments here will not only protect residents but also connect directly to adjacent work in Pole Hill, creating cross-boundary resilience and expanded landscape-scale benefits.
Looking Ahead: Building on Momentum
As forest treatment work continues, the partners’ focus remains on connectivity—linking project areas to achieve cumulative benefits for forest and watershed health. This landscape-scale approach is central to the Big Thompson Watershed Health Partnership’s mission: To achieve measurable progress towards long-term health and resilience of our watershed and its valuable assets by leveraging shared resources and taking collaborative action.
Through collaboration, trust, and shared purpose, the BTWHP is proving that when we work together, we can protect what matters most—our people, our forests, and the water that sustains us all.