HOUSE BILL 22-1323
BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Snyder and Froelich, Amabile, Bernett, Bird,
Boesenecker, Carver, Catlin, Cutter, Duran, Esgar, Exum, Herod, Hooton,
Kipp, Lindsay, Lontine, Lynch, McCluskie, McCormick, McLachlan,
Michaelson Jenet, Pico, Roberts, Soper, Titone, Valdez A., Valdez D.,
Weissman, Will, Woodrow, Young;
also SENATOR(S) Rankin and Ginal, Cooke, Donovan, Gonzales, Hansen,
Holbert, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Lee, Lundeen, Priola, Scott, Simpson,
Story, Woodward.
C
ONCERNING UPDATES TO THE COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE SEEDLING
TREE NURSERY
, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH , MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION
.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. Legislative declaration. (1) The general assembly
finds and declares that:
(a) A large, diverse, and healthy tree population within Colorado's
naturally forested and community landscapes is vital in the fight against
climate change because trees are essential for increasing carbon
sequestration and achieving Colorado's climate mitigation targets;
NOTE: This bill has been prepared for the signatures of the appropriate legislative
officers and the Governor. To determine whether the Governor has signed the bill
or taken other action on it, please consult the legislative status sheet, the legislative
history, or the Session Laws.
________
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material added to existing law; dashes
through words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law and such material is not part of
the act. (b) Colorado has recently suffered devastating impacts to its tree
population from uncharacteristic wildfires, insect outbreaks, drought, and
deforestation;
(c) In 2020 and 2021, Colorado experienced two record-breaking
wildfire years that resulted in four of the largest and most costly wildfires
in the state's history:
(I) The Marshall Fire, which burned over 6,000 acres and 1,000
structures in a highly urbanized area and caused more than $500 million in
damages;
(II) The Cameron Peak Fire, which burned around 208,913 acres;
(III) The East Troublesome Fire, which burned around 193,812
acres; and
(IV) The Pine Gulch Fire, which burned around 139,007 acres; and
(d) Reforestation in the aftermath of wildfires plays an important
role in:
(I) Preserving water quality;
(II) Restoring tree cover;
(III) Providing stream and riverbank support and decreasing flood
damage;
(IV) Increasing carbon sequestration;
(V) Enhancing outdoor recreation areas; and
(VI) Protecting biodiversity.
(2) The general assembly also finds that:
(a) Located on the foothills campus of Colorado state university in
Fort Collins, the Colorado state forest service seedling tree nursery (forest
PAGE 2-HOUSE BILL 22-1323 service nursery) plays a critical role in providing seedling trees for
landowners and land managers in Colorado for conservation and
reforestation purposes;
(b) A large-scale, diverse, and reliable stock of seedling trees is
critical to mitigating the risk of future wildfires, protecting existing water
infrastructure, and adapting to continued climate change in Colorado;
(c) Due to its outdated infrastructure, limited staffing capabilities,
and limited growing space, the forest service nursery has been unable to
leverage its capacity and resources to meet the increasing demand for
seedling trees for nonfederal lands in Colorado; and
(d) The lack of funding to improve and modernize the forest service
nursery has put the forest service nursery in a position of being
unsustainable in the future and has significantly limited its ability to:
(I) Produce sufficient stock of a diversity of high-quality,
environmentally adapted seedling trees to be used for ecosystem restoration;
(II) Provide guidance and expertise regarding reforestation that is
necessary to increase the survival rate of seedling trees; and
(III) Support post-wildfire recovery efforts at the scale now
required.
(3) The general assembly therefore declares that an investment by
the state to upgrade and expand the forest service nursery will increase the
forest service nursery's annual production dramatically, improve
professional expertise, and help support the growing need for seedling trees
and guidance regarding the implementation of reforestation projects in
response to wildfire.
SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add 23-31-319 as
follows:
23-31-319. Forest service seedling tree nursery - necessary
upgrades and improvements - definition - funding - reports - repeal.
(1) Definition. A
S USED IN THIS SECTION, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE
REQUIRES
, "NURSERY" MEANS THE COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE
PAGE 3-HOUSE BILL 22-1323 SEEDLING TREE NURSERY LOCATED ON THE FOOTHILLS CAMPUS OF
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY IN FORT COLLINS AND OPERATED BY THE
COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE .
(2) Greenhouses. T
O UPGRADE GREENHOUSES AND EXPAND THEIR
CAPACITY
, THE NURSERY SHALL:
(a) R
EPAIR EXISTING STRUCTURES AS NEEDED ;
(b) A
DD SQUARE FOOTAGE TO EXISTING STRUCTURES OR CONSTRUCT
NEW STRUCTURES
;
(c) R
EPLACE PUMPS AND OTHER EQUIPMENT WITH EQUIPMENT THAT
IS CALIBRATED FOR CURRENT NUTRIENT DELIVERY STANDARDS
;
(d) I
MPLEMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES ;
(e) I
MPLEMENT MODERN PEST CONTROL MEASURES ; AND
(f) UPGRADE WATER DELIVERY SYSTEMS , INCLUDING IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS
.
(3) Shade house structures. T
O IMPROVE AND EXPAND SHADE
HOUSE STRUCTURES
, THE NURSERY SHALL:
(a) R
EMOVE AND REPLACE EXISTING ROTTED STRUCTURES ;
(b) R
EFILL AND LEVEL SUNKEN OR ERODED GROUND ;
(c) I
NSTALL NEW FOUNDATIONS ;
(d) I
NSTALL NEW IRRIGATION LINES; AND
(e) ADD SQUARE FOOTAGE TO EXISTING STRUCTURES , CONSTRUCT
NEW STRUCTURES
, OR BOTH.
(4) Containers and shipping supplies. T
O PREPARE FOR INCREASED
PRODUCTION
, THE NURSERY SHALL:
(a) P
URCHASE SUFFICIENT CONTAINERS AND SHIPPING MATERIALS TO
PAGE 4-HOUSE BILL 22-1323 SERVE THE NURSERY'S STORAGE AND SHIPPING NEEDS; AND
(b) PURCHASE A PRESSURE WASHER TO CLEAN AND STERILIZE
CONTAINERS FOR REUSE
.
(5) Capacity, expertise, and infrastructure analysis. T
O GUIDE
FURTHER INVESTMENT IN THE MODERNIZATION OF THE NURSERY
, THE
NURSERY SHALL CONTRACT WITH NURSERY MANAGEMENT AND
REFORESTATION PROFESSIONALS TO CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF PRIORITY
CAPACITY AND KNOWLEDGE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO
ADDRESS REFORESTATION NEEDS IN RESPONSE TO MORE FREQUENT AND
INTENSE WILDFIRE
, FLOOD, INSECT, AND DISEASE INCIDENTS.
(6) Appropriation. F
OR THE 2022-23 STATE FISCAL YEAR, THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL APPROPRIATE MONEY TO THE
COLORADO STATE
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM FOR ALLOCATION TO AND EXPENDITURE BY THE
COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE TO FUND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE
NURSERY
, TO HIRE PROFESSIONAL STAFF, AND TO CONDUCT THE CAPACITY,
EXPERTISE, AND INFRASTRUCTURE ANALYSIS AS SPECIFIED IN SUBSECTION
(5) OF THIS SECTION.
(7) Reporting. N
O LATER THAN JUNE 1, 2023, AND NO LATER THAN
JUNE 1 OF ANY OTHER YEAR IN WHICH THE COLORADO STATE FOREST
SERVICE EXPENDS MONEY APPROPRIATED TO THE
COLORADO STATE
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION
, THE STATE FORESTER
SHALL SUBMIT A REPORT CONCERNING THE USE OF MONEY RECEIVED BY THE
COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION TO THE
WILDFIRE MATTERS REVIEW COMMITTEE CREATED IN SECTION
2-3-1602
(1)(a).
(8) Repeal. T
HIS SECTION IS REPEALED, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. Appropriation. For the 2022-23 state fiscal year,
$5,000,000 is appropriated to the department of higher education for use by
the board of governors of the Colorado state university system. This
appropriation is from the general fund. To implement this act, the board of
governors may use this appropriation for the Colorado state forest service
tree nursery. Any money appropriated in this section not expended prior to
July 1, 2023, is further appropriated to the board of governors for the
2023-24 state fiscal year for the same purpose.
PAGE 5-HOUSE BILL 22-1323 SECTION 4. Act subject to petition - effective date. This act
takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the
ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly; except
that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V
of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act
within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect
unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in
November 2022 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official
declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.
____________________________ ____________________________
Alec Garnett Steve Fenberg
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
____________________________ ____________________________
Robin Jones Cindi L. Markwell
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE SECRETARY OF
OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE
APPROVED________________________________________
(Date and Time)
_________________________________________
Jared S. Polis
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF COLORADO
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