Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 06 14

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Open Space Advisory Board Minutes May 10, 2023 Page 8 of 12 Jojo pointed out that removing pine needles and mulch might be harmful, as they provide habitat for wildlife and help with soil water retention. Dr. Matonis pointed out that mulch under trees can act as a fuel during the winter, but in the summer, mulch retains moisture and may reduce fire risk. She used this as an example of the complexity of fire mitigation. Helen asked about the mitigation potential of some of the new hybrid buffalo grasses that stay low and are related to native species. Dr. Matonis didn't have any information about them. Helen was surprised and concerned that open space was ranked third in the "relative importance" part of the wildfire risk mode and asked if this ranking took into account # of users, # of acres, # of partnerships with neighboring governments, # of points of contact with residents and land owners, etc., She felt that the public would want an explanation of this. David thought it might reflect some sort of cost of replacement consideration. Mr. Szafranski said these relative importance numbers came from their evaluation, not the City. Laura pointed out that there are surveys that rank open space as the most popular city amenity to the citizen, so data about how citizens' rankings the relative importance of city amenities do exist. Mr. Szafranski said these surveys would be helpful data. Amber Greve asked when the full report would be available. Mr. Szafranski said there is not an exact date: part of it will depend on when the new state fire behavior data comes out. Amber continued that she was very interested in the role of grazers and prairie dogs on wildfire mitigation. Dr. Matonis added that Boulder County land managers are currently studying how to both retain native species and reduce wildfire risk. Ryan Welch asked how sensitive these models are to the model inputs. Mr. Szafranski replied that this is always useful to think about. Helen asked whether there was some way for the City to share mitigation responsibility at ditches with the ditch companies. She also asked about incentives for private landowners who have fallow land to mitigate their land, including grants and incentives for landowners to replace fences. Mr. Szafranski liked these ideas. Ember said that there will be a section in the report for additional recommendations and opportunities for the City that aren't strictly on open space/park land. Helen asked if the City going to feed this plan into a larger conversation about fire preparedness that includes the role of the fire department, coordination between communities, first responder emergency plans, citizen alerting and managing traffic during evacuation. Adam explained that the City is working in all of these areas and that this comprehensive approach is part of a bigger, on- going review. Laura pointed out that the mitigation efforts she had heard about (e.g. mowing, fences, and firebreaks) could be effective for "normal" fires, but the citizens all know that the 10