At yesterday’s Archuleta Board of County Commissioners work session, we heard a couple of different proposals related to the future of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County.
Not opposing views, but certainly coming from two different perspectives. On the one hand, making Pagosa Springs more profitable, especially for a certain development company… and on the other hand, making Pagosa Springs as resilient as possible, considering that we live in the midst of highly-flammable forests.
The first proposal came from a development company listed in the BOCC agenda as “ArenaLabs, LLC.” David Dragoo and Heidi Dragoo made the presentation.
But I’m going to save the discussion about the “Development Plan for X Highway 160” for later in this editorial series, and start off with the presentation by Matt Ford, representing the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, a volunteer group with a goal of making our surrounding Archuleta County forests as healthy and safe — and as productive — as possible.
Understanding that “productive” can mean many different things.
3. San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership – Matt Ford
Mr. Ford introduced himself as someone who graduated from Pagosa Springs High School. He’s currently a real estate broker, as well as something of a community activist. He had brought along a printed PDF to hand out to the commissioners… (and was kind enough to email the PDF to me, following the meeting.)
He explained that, as a real estate broker in town, he’s concerned about the impacts of wildfire in our community.
“Fire protection and insurance and all those things touch real estate. And then, in addition, we have the sawmill out near the airport. We have fire mitigation and forest restoration business. And add to that, land management for private landowners. So forest, water, insurance, all that wrapped into something I’m really interested in.
“So that’s what drives my interest in the Forest Health Partnership.”
He didn’t mention the Three Fords farm, where Matt, wife Cherie and son Tucker produce local meat, eggs, honey, and other farm-to-table products. From their website:
Each product bearing the Three Fords brand is lovingly raised by Cherie or is sourced from carefully selected partners who share our values. This ensures that you receive the highest quality goods with a genuine connection to the community. Feed and supplements are purchased from regional vendors and grain products are sourced, to the extent feasible, from within Colorado. With a focus on pasture-raised practices and non-GMO feed, Three Fords Farm offers a wide range of farm-to-table delights that are as delicious as they are sustainable.
But the presentation on Tuesday focused on ‘forest health’ and especially, on the way a wide range of professionals and community activists have been supporting healthy local forests through the San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership.
The organization’s mission:
The SJHFHP develops science-based, collaborative priorities for the sustainable management of forests, watersheds and essential community resources.
Over the past couple of decades, forestry professionals have adopted the perspective that periodic wildfire is an essential feature of healthy forests, especially in the American West.
This perspective does not necessarily align well with the belief that our governments have a responsibility to try and protect private homes and businesses from any and all wildfire damage.
The middle ground “scientifically” adopted by the Forest Health Partnership is based upon the idea that we can have healthy forests, and can even live next to, or within, forests that occasionally catch fire, if we’re willing to create defensible spaces around our actual homes. One requirement for this approach is timber processing. When you remove trees close to human habitation, you need to do something with the trees. So the development an active lumber industry may well be essential to a safer Archuleta County community.
And not just safer. Also, affordable.
The second half of Mr. Ford’s presentation focused on insurance. He shared this chart, which was interesting even if it didn’t specifically address wildfire losses.
As a result of this trend, many insurance carriers are refusing to write new policies — or even renew existing policies — in states like Florida and Louisiana (hurricane country) and California and Colorado (wildfire country). And the policies that are still available have been increasing on an annual basis. According to Mr. Ford, between January 2019 and October 2022, the average homeowner premium increased by 52%. That’s a much steeper increase than inflation would predict. 76% of insurance carriers in Colorado reduced their risk exposure in 2022, and industry growth dropped to 0% in late 2022.
And it’s not only recent disasters that are causing a contraction in the industry. Replacement costs — when a home is destroyed or damaged — have greatly increased. Mr. Ford pointed out that the total assessed value of Archuleta County homes and businesses in 2018 was about $220 million. By 2023, it had more than doubled, to $460 million. Not because of new construction, but because of the skyrocketing price of existing homes.
Very few families in Archuleta County can replace their home for even close the same price they paid for it. And higher insurance premiums reflect that situation.
According to an April 2024 article on CNN.com, by reporters Nathaniel Meyersohn and Anna Bahney:
Homeowners who have a mortgage are not able to go without homeowners insurance as their mortgage servicer will require an escrow account for insurance. But for those who have paid off their home or bought it with cash, the high additional costs of homeowners insurance, and the challenge of getting it, can lead some to take their chances without it.
Some 6 million homeowners chose to forgo homeowners insurance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. That’s about 7% of all homeowners in the country, and amounts to about $1.6 trillion of unprotected value. CFA warned that the problem of uninsured homes is likely to get worse in coming years unless major investments in climate change adaptation and stronger oversight of the insurance industry are made…
What are Colorado leaders going to do about the problem? Anything?