BOULDER COUNTY – The Watershed Center (watershed.center), a local nonprofit conservation group, recently released the results of a survey regarding attitudes of property owners in the St. Vrain watershed towards wildfire risk reduction and proactive forest management strategies.

The survey was done in conjunction with the Wildfire Research Center (WiRe) (wildfireresearchcenter.org) on behalf of four fire departments in the watershed to gauge public engagement and support for wildfire risk reduction activities individually and at the community level.

Based on county assessor records, 3,680 surveys were mailed to property owners in the Allenspark Fire Protection District, Lyons Fire Protection District, Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District, and the Lefthand Canyon Fire Protection District.

The survey period ended on May 20, 2025. The final number of surveys returned was 1,128 for a return rate of 31%.

The 17-page survey included questions about personal mitigation practices as well as questions about attitudes towards forest management practices on public lands. The purpose of the survey was to gain an understanding of community perspectives on wildfire preparedness, forest treatments, and land management.

The Co-Executive Director of WiRe Colleen Donovan said that the survey was developed by the WiRe Center around 2010 and customized versions have been done for clients as far away as Alaska.

WiRe facilitated and managed this survey for the Genesee Fire Protection District in Evergreen in 2022 (1,297mailed / 584 returned / 45%) and the Estes Valley Fire Protection District in Estes Park in 2023 (1,403 mailed / 442 returned / 39%).

On the issue of reducing wildfire risk on public lands, 42% of the respondents considered it extremely acceptable to conduct thinning operations on public lands compared to 3% who considered it not at all acceptable. Extremely Acceptable and Very Acceptable responses accounted for 74%.

Extremely Acceptable and Very Acceptable responses to burning slash piles on nearby public lands was at 67% while Not at All Acceptable was at 5%.

Prescribed fires like broadcast burns were 58% for Extremely Acceptable and Very Acceptable responses while the Not at All Acceptable responses were at 6%.

The Genesse and Estes Valley surveys yielded similar results. Estes Valley FPD has 66% of the respondents as Extremely and Very Acceptable and 3% as Not at All Acceptable. Genesee FPD had 78% of the respondents as Extremely and Very Acceptable and 2% as Not at All Acceptable.

Chiarra Forrester who is the Forest Program Director for The Watershed Center wrote: “These results reflect strong public support from mountain communities when it comes to taking action to reduce wildfire risk and promote forest resilience on public lands. While acceptability varies by treatment type, and more education and communication are needed, these results show that residents understand the importance of proactive management.”

Donovan pointed out another interesting aspect of the survey. The survey asks how effective the property owner has been at creating defensible space and making evacuation preparations. It then asks follow-up questions about specific practices like having a Grab-and-Go box assembled or having a wildfire assessment done on their property.

Donovan said that respondents consistently had a discrepancy between their overall opinion on how much they had done and their actual practices. The respondents regularly overstated how well they were prepared for a wildfire.

 The results of the St. Vrain survey are being used by the involved fire districts to help shape policies going forward.

One concrete result from the Genesee survey was that it was determined that there were significant egress issues with several subdivisions. Efforts to obtain funding were successful, and better routes are in the process of being constructed.

For more information about the survey results contact Chiarra Forester at cforrester@watershed.center or 720-745-3160. For more information about the survey contact Colleen Donovan from the Wildfire Research Center at colleen@wildfireresearchcenter.org. A press release on the St. Vrain survey can be found on the Watershed Center website (watershed.center) under News and Events.