Memorandum of Understanding - Establishing the Clear Creek Watershed & Forest Health Partnership - For Collaboration and Coordination in Wildfire Risk Mitigation and Forest Health Projects

Sep 16, 2026

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Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Clear Creek Watershed & Forest Health Partnership sets out a coordinated framework for participating Colorado local governments and fire-related agencies. The agreement emphasizes shared recognition that wildfire impacts do not follow jurisdictional boundaries, defines mutual interests in wildfire risk mitigation and forest health, and describes the partnership’s non-binding nature. Parties commit to collaborate, provide technical and potentially financial support as authorized, and implement actions consistent with each member’s statutory authority, while noting that any funding or value transfers require separate agreements.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Statement of Mutual Benefit and Interests

Statement of Mutual Understanding

# MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ESTABLISHING THECLEAR CREEK WATERSHED&FOREST HEALTH PARTNERSHIP FORCOLLABORATION AND COORDINATION IN WILDFIRE RISK MITIGATION ANDFOREST HEALTH PROJECTS WITHIN THE CLEAR CREEK WATERSHED 10 PARTIES.This Memorandum of Understanding("MOU")Establishing the Clear CreekWatershed &Forest Health Partnership("Partnership")is entered into by and between theCity of Arvada,a home rule munictpal corporation of the State of Colorado,the City ofBlack Hawk,a home rule corporation and political subdivIsion of the State of Colorado,theCounty of Clear Creek,a body poltic and corporate and political subdivision of the State ofColorado,the Clear Creek Fre Authority,a consolidated fire protection and emergencyservice agency,the Town of Empire,a statutory corporation and political subdiV1S1on of theState of Colorado,the County of Glpɪn,a body politic and corporate and politicalsubdivIs1on of the State of Colorado,the City of Golden,a home rule corporation andpolitical subdivis1on of the State of Colorado,the County of Jefferson,a body politic andcorporate and political subdivision of the State of Colorado,and the City of Westmnster,ahome rule municipality,hereinafter referred to collectively as the "Parties"or "Members,"or individually as a "Party"or "Member" 20BACKGROUND 21 The Clear Creek Watershed(“Watershed')spans from its western edge at theContinental Divide to the urbanized plains outside of Denver where Clear Creek joinsthe South Platte River The entire Watershed covers an area of 575 square miles,with400 square miles located in the‘upper'watershed in the mountains west of GoldenNearly two-thirds of the upper Watershed les within the Arapaho and RooseveltNational Forests and is administered by the Clear Creek Ranger District The rest of thismountanous region is covered by a patchwork of private,municipal,county,and statelands Clear Creek and its tributaries act as the primary drinking water supply formultiple towns and municipalrtres,serving nearly 450,000 Colorado residents Thisforested area and the creek corridor also act as a critical area for recreatron,cultural andhistorical values,and transportation See Exhbit A,depicting the geographical area ofthe Watershed 22 The Clear Creek watershed is vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire and post-wildfireflooding and water quality imparments,debris flows,and economic 1mpacts Historicalfire suppression policies,development in the wildland-urban interface,and climatechange have combined to elongate the wildfire season and to make contemporarywildfires hotter and larger The communrtres in the watershed and the people whodepend on Clear Creek for water resources are facing increasing wildfire risks 23 An engineering study for the upper Clear Creek watershed was conducted between theFall of 2019 and Spring 2021(the“Upper Clear Creek Watershed Pre-WIIdfirePlannmg Study",or“Study”),attached hereto as Exhibit B The Upper Clear Creek Pre-Wildfire Planning Study 1dentifies and assesses sustanability and resiliency in apost-fire scenario relative to changes in hydrology and hydraulics at critical,highpriority locations or stream segments This study also analyzed a suite of options tomanage forests and fuels,restore and 1mprove stream channels,assess and mitigate theW¹ldland-Urban Interface(“WUI”),and form mult1-objective partnerships aroundcritical resources and infrastructure values From this effort,the impacted Parties haveagreed to create a collaborative group,to implement a wildfire risk mitigation programfor the Clear Creek basin based on the pre-fire study recommendations 30 STATEMENT OF MUTUAL BENEFIT AND INTERESTS 31 The Partres recognize,accept,and respect the dfferences in missions,goals,andobjectives of each other However,wildfire does not recognize or respect jurisdictionalboundaries The Parties therefore agree to work collaboratively and in a coordinatedfashion to achieve the mission and objectives sought and described herein 32 The Parties acknowled

FAQs

What is the purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)?

It establishes the Clear Creek Watershed & Forest Health Partnership to enable collaboration and coordinated action for wildfire risk mitigation and forest health projects within the Clear Creek Watershed.

Is the MOU legally binding or does it obligate funds?

The MOU is non-binding and does not obligate any funds of the Parties; support is provided only as funding and resources become available and are authorized in each Party’s discretion.

Can a Party take wildfire-related or forestry actions independently under this MOU?

Yes. The MOU recognizes each Party’s ability to participate in local activities or implement forestry management decisions under its own statutory and regulatory authority, and it does not supplant discretionary authority.

What happens if a project involves transferring funds or valuable services?

Specific projects that transfer funds, services, property, or other value require separate agreements and are contingent on factors such as availability of appropriated resources and applicable administrative and legal requirements.

Sep 16, 2026

Upload by Mason