The Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley has secured an $850,000 Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise (NDME) grant through the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) to support large-scale wildfire mitigation in partnership with the Town of Snowmass Village. The project will reduce wildfire risk, improve evacuation safety, and protect critical water supplies in Snowmass Village.
For several years, the Town of Snowmass Village has invested approximately $100,000 annually in local wildfire mitigation, steadily building capacity and reducing risk. This new funding will greatly accelerate that work, allowing the Collaborative and the Town to implement mitigation at a much larger scale. The grant provides dedicated funding to immediately carry out the wildfire mitigation strategies that will be identified through the advanced modeling currently being conducted by Dr. Hussam Mahmoud.
The Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley, the region’s wildfire resilience nonprofit, is driving this effort—bridging cutting-edge science, local partnerships, and funding to accelerate on-the-ground mitigation.
“This funding allows us to move immediately from wildfire modeling to on-the-ground implementation,” said Angie Davlyn, Executive Director of the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley. “Dr. Mahmoud’s modeling gives us an unprecedented understanding of how fire could spread through Snowmass Village and where treatments will make the biggest difference for life safety and structure protection. This grant will allow us to immediately get to work implementing the strategies that are identified.”
Snowmass Village faces some of the highest wildfire risk in Colorado, with steep terrain, dense vegetation, and limited evacuation routes that make suppression and evacuation difficult. NDME funding will allow the Town to act on detailed, data-driven priorities identified through Dr. Mahmoud’s model, focusing on corridors and neighborhoods where reducing fuels will most effectively protect lives, property, and infrastructure.
“We’re using state-of-the-art science to guide where and how we act, ensuring every dollar directly reduces wildfire risk for our residents, workforce, and visitors,” said Alyssa Shenk, Mayor of Snowmass Village. “The Town is deeply committed to wildfire resilience, and this partnership ensures we’re implementing the most effective strategies.”
“This kind of proactive mitigation is critical,” said John Mele, Fire Marshal for Roaring Fork Fire Rescue. “When we reduce fuels before a fire starts, we’re not only protecting homes and lives — we’re creating safer conditions for firefighters and first responders. This project will make a measurable difference in how a fire behaves, how we can fight it, and how quickly the community can recover.”
Implementation will begin in 2026, and over the next three years, the project will significantly strengthen Snowmass Village’s resilience to wildfire and post-fire hazards.
The project complements the Wildfire Ready Watersheds (WRAP) program, also led by the Collaborative, which is mapping post-fire flood and erosion risks across the entire watershed. Together, these initiatives ensure that wildfire mitigation protects not only homes and lives, but also the watersheds and infrastructure that sustain the community.
This latest funding adds to the Wildfire Collaborative’s portfolio of wildfire resilience projects that span prescribed burns, fuels reduction, risk mapping, public education, and homeowner action programs across the watershed. Current efforts include a $2 million mid-valley mitigation project near Sopris Mountain Ranch (between Carbondale and Snowmass Village) to reduce hazardous fuels and slow the progression of fast-moving fire; a large-scale fuels reduction project in the 3-Mile and 4-Mile areas of Glenwood Springs; evacuation planning in Marble informed by advanced wildfire modeling; the creation of a shaded fuel break in Basalt to protect homes and critical infrastructure; and ongoing cross-boundary, multi-stakeholder projects in and around Aspen. Together, these projects demonstrate the Wildfire Collaborative’s commitment to scaling up wildfire mitigation across the entire valley, aligning local priorities with science-based strategies and national investments.
For more information about the NDME program, visit dhsem.colorado.gov/NDME
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About the Wildfire Collaborative Roaring Fork Valley
We are the only nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing wildfire risk across the Roaring Fork Valley. Our mission is to identify, prioritize, and implement strategic cross-boundary plans and projects that foster fire-resilient landscapes and fire-adapted communities. Through long-term, strategic, cross-sector coordination across partners, we work to create healthier forests, safer neighborhoods, and stronger community preparedness. We are able to do this work thanks to grant funding, contributions from governmental partners, and support from donors. Learn more about our work and ongoing projects at www.rfvwildfire.org.
About the Colorado Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise (NDME)
In August, ten local governments were awarded $5,348,577 in natural disaster mitigation grants from the Colorado Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise (NDME). House Bill 21-1208 established the Natural Disaster Mitigation Enterprise allowing a two dollar fee to be assessed on every property insurance policy held in the state of Colorado. Those fees are used to fund hazard mitigation grants and technical assistance to local government agencies. In total, $10,539,030 has been collected in fees based on policies held in 2022 and 2023 to support $10,128,063 in NDME grants. Fees collected for policies held in 2024 will be used to fund future grants.