SB 21-237 Summary

• Repeals the Forest Health Advisory Council created under House Bill 16-1255 and establishes a new Colorado Forest Health Council within the Division of Forestry in the Department of Natural Resources, effective September 2, 2021.

• Council consists of 26 members including six ex officio representatives from state and federal agencies, thirteen appointed by the Governor representing diverse stakeholders, and two General Assembly members from the Wildfire Matters Review Committee.

• Council's mission is to improve forest health through integrated, science-based collaboration to mitigate wildfire, restore ecological health, safeguard water supplies, support local economies, and adapt to climate change across jurisdictional boundaries.

• Council shall develop a thirty-year forest health vision, provide annual and multi-year recommendations, conduct landscape-scale planning, monitor forest ecosystem trends, and develop legislative and regulatory recommendations for wildfire mitigation and forest restoration.

• Council reports annually to the Governor and Wildfire Matters Review Committee; appropriates $668 to the legislative department for implementation and sunsets September 1, 2026 unless reauthorized.