Northern Colorado’s water supplies and communities face wildfire risks at a landscape scale. The encouraging news is that years of preparation give us a strong foundation for action.
Across Larimer County, extensive research, planning, and field experience have identified the areas at greatest risk and the actions that can protect them. Public agencies, water providers, fire districts, local governments, nonprofits, landowners, and other partners are already collaborating to improve forest health, safeguard drinking-water sources, prepare communities, and reduce wildfire risk.
We have the knowledge. We have strong partnerships. We have people ready to do the work.
What we need is sustained investment to move that work forward at the scale required.
That need for sustained investment is why Peaks to People has endorsed Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A, the Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Ballot Issue 1A proposes a 0.3% countywide sales and use tax—30 cents on a $100 taxable purchase—to fund wildfire and natural-hazard resilience, transportation and infrastructure safety, and community services. Larimer County identifies proactive forest health, drinking-water source protection, watershed restoration, and disaster mitigation among the eligible resilience activities. The measure strictly exempts essential everyday purchases, including groceries, gasoline, diapers, prescription drugs, and period products. All revenues generated by the measure would be subject to annual independent financial audits to ensure transparency and local accountability.
From planning to action
Peaks to People works with organizations across Northern Colorado to translate shared priorities into action. Regional partnerships, science-based decision-support tools, collaborative planning, and strategic investment show what organizations can accomplish when they coordinate across boundaries.
Collaboration is essential because wildfire – and its consequences – crosses property lines and jurisdictional boundaries.
After a severe wildfire, lost vegetation and altered soils can increase erosion, flooding, and debris flows, threatening streams, reservoirs, infrastructure, and drinking-water supplies long after the flames are extinguished.
As Peaks to People Executive Director Julie Dubin explained, “What happens to our water up stream doesn’t stay up stream. The impacts don’t end when the fire is out. Small rainstorms post-fire can cause severe erosion, flooding, and debris flows that threaten drinking water quality. Protecting our forests is protecting our water.”
Building resilience before disaster strikes
For Peaks to People, preparedness means applying the best available science, partnerships, and strategic investment to reduce wildfire and watershed risks before disaster strikes.
That can include forest restoration and fuels reduction, drinking-water source protection, watershed restoration, emergency planning, and other measures designed to reduce future risk and strengthen resilience.
Ballot Issue 1A provides an opportunity to build on work already underway throughout Larimer County and increase the resources available to move identified priorities forward.
The priorities are clear, the partnerships are in place, and sustained investment can put more projects on the ground.
The 2026 General Election is Tuesday, November 3. Before voting, review the official information about Ballot Issue 1A and consider how the measure would support Larimer County’s resilience priorities.
Learn more about Ballot Issue 1A: https://readylarimer.org/
Official Larimer County election information: https://www.larimer.gov/clerk/elections/election