My community knows we are vulnerable to a specific hazard that occurred recently. Do we still need to do this?
Yes. Recent events may have the ability to create a sense that everyone is aware of the risks associated with it, but part of planning over the long term is ensuring that this kind of hard-won knowledge doesn’t fade over time. Recent events can make excellent case studies in understanding your community’s vulnerabilities and can point out exact places where changes need to be made to avoid or minimize impacts in the future. At the same time, the vulnerability assessment process can help you to understand the full range of risks your community might face, as well as those that are top of mind due to recent occurrences.
People in my community are concerned that this process might diminish their property values or paint their neighborhood in a bad light. How can our project team address this?
Designating properties or neighborhoods as high risk or high vulnerability can often take on a negative connotation, and people may react defensively. For this reason, it is critical that the project team highlight, throughout the vulnerability assessment process, the visions and goals for resiliency that the community hopes to achieve. This is another reason that active engagement and outreach are important, as it ensures that those likely to be the most critical of a vulnerability assessment process have the opportunity to understand its value, take ownership of its process, and feel benefitted by its outcomes.
My community is heavily reliant upon recreation in the area outside of the direct control of our government agency. How do we factor this into our assessment process?
Many areas in Colorado have economies that rely heavily on tourism and businesses outside their jurisdiction. This can make planning processes tricky, as some of the most important assets your community relies upon are outside of your control - and may even be quite far away, geographically. In these cases, attempt to coordinate with agents from the managing agency that oversees the resources in question. Depending on your case, this may include private ski area operators, public land agencies (the USDA Forest Service, the National Parks Service, the Bureau of Land Management, or Colorado Parks and Wildlife, for one example). This can provide both access to valuable information about these assets as well as help to coordinate across plans that have the potential to impact one another.
My community is heavily reliant upon privately-owned agricultural operations outside of our jurisdictional boundary. How do we factor this into our assessment process?
Agricultural operations in Colorado are one of the key places where climate and weather can have their most severe impacts. These can, in turn, affect the well-being of nearby towns and communities that often have little to no say on how those farms operate and manage risks. One potential partner that can help facilitate this gap and lead to better understanding is the Colorado State Extension Service, which works with farmers and ranchers across the state to bring scientific information and educational resources to agricultural operators. Similarly, the Northern Great Plains USDA Climate Hub can also be a valuable resource for information and skills needed to bring farmers and ranchers into the community planning process.