What’s Working: Could an army of young conservationists fill a firefighting gap in Colorado? ...Middle East

Tracy Ross

Reporter

Quick links: The jobs of fire | Cost of conservation | Readers on recession | Take the reader poll | Grocery workers | Underemployment event for students | Rent help

For the first time in years, Coloradans across much of the state can worry a little less about the potential for summer wildfires, according to a Wildfire Preparedness Plan the Colorado Department of Wildfire and Control released in April.

It says current forecasts indicate normal fire potential is expected from now through July, except for southwestern Colorado, which will likely be above normal due to the continued drought and expected hot, dry weather before the monsoon develops.

That’s great news for everyone outside of southwestern Colorado. But what if you live in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma or San Juan counties? Or what if the weather shifts and the part of the state you live in starts racking up red flag warning days?

It’s a question on many lawmakers’ minds, thanks to the federal funds slashing that’s been going on since President Donald Trump started his second term. His new Department of Government Efficiency has cut thousands of U.S. Forest Service jobs, including 150 in Colorado, held by people who help manage more than 24 million acres of public lands and are key to preventing blazes and making the work of wildland firefighters easier.

Twice now, U.S. lawmakers including Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet have asked the White House to reinstate those workers. On Friday, Hickenlooper’s office said they have not heard from the White House regarding their requests.

Preventing and suppressing fire

That makes the work of an army of largely unseen people earning on average $500 a week more important than ever, not only for fire prevention and suppression but for trail construction and maintenance, fence construction and removal, invasive species treatment and eradication, energy and water conservation, and historic preservation on Colorado’s 23 million-plus acres of public lands, which 73% of Coloradans recreate on once a week, according to Colorado’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan released in December.

They’re members of the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, AmeriCorps, working for eight land conservation service corps across the state that partner with local and federal agencies on wildfire mitigation, suppression and related work like rebuilding trails in areas flooded after burns.

Between 2020 and 2024, 3,025 fires burned 780,000 acres across Colorado, leaving “a tragic legacy of ensuing floods due to damaged soil and incinerated stabilizing vegetation,” said Scott Segerstrom, executive director of the Colorado Youth Corps Association, which oversees the two largest AmeriCorps grants in Colorado totaling $6.4 million.

Since 2006, Colorado has faced eight disaster-level flooding events, and the Colorado State Forest Service has identified 591 miles of trail within the highest danger flood zones.

But the various conservation service corps — composed mainly of 16- to 25-year-olds — have been working, without fanfare, to make Colorado’s natural spaces safer. Every year, the conservation service corps’ partnering agencies certify 350 chainsaw operators capable of performing critical forest-thinning to prevent megafires from starting, Segerstrom said.

Another 150 corpsmembers are certified as wildland firefighters. And the corps helps mitigate the impacts of flooding in burned areas by planting trees and vegetation to stabilize river banks, revegetating burn scars and constructing check dam structures that reduce the velocity of runoff, therefore reducing erosion.

In 2024, conservation service corps across the state deployed 947 total AmeriCorps members on conservation projects.

These members, according to Segerstrom, constructed or maintained 1,040 miles of trail and treated more than 3,000 acres for the threat of an uncontrolled wildland fire. They removed more than 25,000 hazard trees from fire-threatened forests. And they revegetated burned areas with 3,158 trees and plants.

The corps “are key partners for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. They provide added capacity and hands-on work for trail building, land reclamation and wildfire risk reduction just to name a few,” said Alison Lerch, DNR’s forestry and wildfire mitigation policy advisor.

“By the end of 2025, they will treat over 3,000 acres in priority areas in Colorado, completing tasks like clearing evacuation zones, creating fire breaks, or reducing fuel/brush in our forests to reduce the impacts of large scale wildfires,” Lerch added.

But their wildfire work is just the tip of the iceberg.

Conserving Colorado on a dime

Colorado has four national parks, nine national monuments, 42 state parks, more than 300 state wildlife areas, and 11 national forests. It’s home to around 39,000 miles of trail ranging from high alpine to multiuse paths to bird watching trails on the Eastern Plains. And it’s dotted with 2,000 lakes and reservoirs, and threaded with 9,000 miles of rivers and streams, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Conservation service corps members have their hands — and saws, and pickaxes and boots — in all of this, doing technical, high-altitude repairs on trails in sensitive ecosystems, constructing bridges and clearing trail corridors, constructing or removing barbwire, round wire and buck-and-rail fences, removing invasive species and retrofitting homes for energy and water conservation.

But the crux is that these positions could go up in smoke if DOGE continues slashing funds for programs it finds unimportant. Already, AmeriCorps has lost $400 million in funding, which hit 1,000 programs across the U.S., including some of the 37 in Colorado.

For the moment, the grants held by the Colorado Youth Corps Association have been spared, but the situation isn’t completely clean. “We go as our partners go,” Segerstrom said, meaning when agencies like the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture or BLM lose federal funding, the conservation corps lose opportunities.

“So we are patiently waiting as our federal partners navigate the next iteration of their spending plans and what they are able to accomplish with us,” Segerstrom said. “We’ll hopefully have another summer of our prolific lifesaving partnership.”

Section by Tracy Ross | Reporter

➔ Coming up in Colorado Sunday: Tracy’s deep dive into AmeriCorps funding loss throughout Colorado and how it could impact programs helping young people enter the workforce. >> Check back

➔ Earlier: 114 fired from National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden as part of Trump administration cuts. While cutting-edge lab says “mission continues,” the president has ridiculed green energy efforts and proposed a $20 billion DOE slash >> Read story

What happened in Colorado’s statehouse this year?

Busy week for state lawmakers as the legislative session ended Wednesday. Here are some of the top stories impacting business and the economy:

➔ The 5 biggest themes of Colorado’s 2025 legislative session >> Read story

➔ 101 bills debated by the Colorado legislature in 2025 that you need to know about >> Read story

➔ Colorado Senate rejects “YIGBY” measure, a priority for Jared Polis that would have boosted housing on land owned by churches, schools and universities >> Read story

➔ Jared Polis plans to veto Labor Peace Act bill, a priority for Colorado unions >> Read story

Sun economy stories you may have missed

➔ Ski train to Steamboat looking likely under new mountain railroad agreement. Gov. Jared Polis announced Colorado’s new deal with Union Pacific, calling for three passenger trips per day on mountain rail >> Read story

➔ Jeffco “clean iron” plant gets inaugural $8 million Colorado decarbonization tax credit. The industrial tax credits are aimed at pushing the state toward 50% emissions cuts by 2030 >> Read story

➔ MSU Denver students beat the market in investment class — using real money. Two student-managed funds have performed 20 percentage points better than the Russell 3000 since the funds’ inception in 2020. But 2025 was a rough semester. >> Read story

➔ Colorado added 48,600 new businesses in the first quarter, but lost about 17,000. In an uncertain economy, business filings tell a different story about operating in uncertain times >> Read story

➔ Southwestern Colorado farmers expect a third of their normal water supply following a dry winter. Water managers and farmers in the Colorado River Basin are forecasting a slow year after lackluster snow — and hoping for a rainy spring >> Read story

Last chance: Colorado SunFest tickets! The big day is Friday, May 16. Get your tickets now!

Reader poll: 38.4% say we’re already in a recession

While some folks already feel like we’re in a recession, the National Bureau of Economic Research hasn’t officially declared it. But then, such declarations often come months after the start of one.

Approximately 159 respondents shared a mix of doom-and-gloom comments and criticism of the current U.S. administration, tariffs and chaotic expense cuts. Said Sylvia in Cortez: “25% off sale is not a sale. It’s what we paid regular price (for) in 2024, 2023. Consumers are paying company tariffs already.”

A different era, but maybe not so much, pointed out Carle from Montrose:

“I think this is different from a normal recession, because it’s caused by the government’s actions and not just business miscalculations,” he wrote. “I just see everyday people really pulling back on discretionary spending. Half-full restaurants, entertainment venues not at capacity, and everyone is getting chickens and planting gardens. Reminds me of stories my grandparents would tell me about the war.”

And there were others offering a different point of view, “Government spending will slow over more time than projected while jobs, salaries and consumer spending will remain strong,” wrote Harvey from Steamboat Springs.

So, what should we all do? “Squirrel away savings” was picked by 33.5% of the respondents, “Spend money to keep the economy going” got 11.6% of the vote. The top response? “Keep reading The Colorado Sun!” at 37.4%.

Thanks to everyone who shared!

Reader poll: It’s the economy!

We are listening and reading so please share! >> cosun.co/WWfeedback

Other working bits

➔ Union-funded economic report highlights understaffed grocery stores. During the King Soopers worker strike earlier this year, employees shared stories about staffing shortages that created long and little time to restock shelves. This week, the Economic Roundtable released its “Bullies at the Table” report, after surveying thousands of grocery store workers in Colorado, California and Washington. In it, 87% of grocery workers said “there is not enough staff at my store” while 75% didn’t have enough time to complete all tasks during their shift.

The report — funded by several unions including UFCW Local 7, which represents 15,700 grocery workers in Colorado — surveyed 3,711 UFCW members who work for Kroger or Albertsons, according to Dan Flaming, the report’s author. Approximately 270 were from Colorado.

Local 7 is still negotiating with Kroger-owned King Soopers on a contract. The February strike ended after two weeks as both sides agreed to pause for 100 days and return to negotiations. That 100 days will be up at the end of May. But then the union sued King Soopers last month for not negotiating in good faith, which the company said claims “are without merit.”

On Wednesday, King Soopers shared the “plain truth about wages, staffing and benefits” and said bargaining talks are expected to start again May 17. >> See report

➔ Event targets students in need of jobs and mentors. With federal job cuts and other challenges facing the education industry, the annual GlobalMindED Conference in Denver will be even more focused on talent pipelines, especially for graduating students who just can’t seem to find a job. The two-day event that starts June 16 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel also attracts business leaders who want to make a difference as mentors. Tickets are pricey but student scholarships are available. “We have never turned away anyone who wants to come,” said Carol Carter, the nonprofit’s founder. >> Details

➔ Colorado ranked 5th in report on small business under tariff pressure. In the May report of market researcher Alignable, 55% of Colorado small businesses surveyed expressed concern about lost sales due to tariffs, a jump from the prior month’s 39%. We’re not too far from No. 1-ranked New York, at 57%. The report found that 1 in 5 entrepreneurs now fear they won’t make it through the year if tariffs persist, while half expect tariff-related revenue declines. >> See report

➔ Need rent assistance? State agency opens applications May 12. Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs is reopening its emergency rental assistance program for two days starting May 12 at 11 a.m. The program provides up to seven months rent or $10,000, whichever is less, and is open to renters within certain income limits (earn no more than 60% of median income for their area), are facing eviction or have fallen behind on rent. Eligible applicants who apply before the May 14, 5 p.m. deadline will be considered based on their housing stability. >> Details

Section by Tamara Chuang | Business/Technology Reporter

Got some economic news or business bits Coloradans should know? Tell us: cosun.co/heyww

Thanks for sticking with us for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara & tracy

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