Congressman Doug Lamborn (Colorado Springs) was informed today by FEMA that the City of Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation Project of 2007 had been chosen as a finalist in FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. The program, which distributes $88.9 million to 210 activities nationwide, funds cost-effective feasible projects such as buyouts of flood-prone buildings or vegetation management. The Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation Project 2007 is slated to receive $1,000,626 contingent upon verification of non-federal matching funds and environmental reviews.

“Being pro-active when dealing with disaster management is always better than being reactive,” said Rep. Lamborn. “Pre-disaster planning and prevention is not only fiscally responsible, it is also socially responsible. The Colorado Springs Wildfire Mitigation Project can potentially save our city, state, and federal government millions of dollars, while also decreasing the risk posed by forest fires to our citizens’ lives homes.”

It is estimated that pre-disaster mitigation, which lessens the scale of devastation caused by natural disasters saves the United States $4 for every one dollar spent. Out of 470 applicants to the program, two were from Colorado; the Coal Creek Crossing Replacement Project in Erie, Colorado was also named as a finalist. The criteria used to choose finalists included technical feasibility of the project, the project’s cost-effectiveness, management and staffing of personnel to implement the project, hazard and risk factors, and benefits to the community.

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