For 57 years, forest and wildfire management has developed within the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) in cooperation with the State’s County Sheriffs and federal natural resource agencies. Currently employees of the CSFS have mulitiple responsibilities relating to forest management activities on our State’s state and private lands. Wildland fire suppression and use of prescribed fire as a forest management tool is a part of every district office of the Colorado State Forest Service. Separating out the Division of Fire Management within the CSFS is like cutting off the hand or leg of an individual which will be crippling. More thought needs to be given to this action as prescribed in this Bill.

Needless to say, the Lower North Fork Fire accident was devasting. It is a sad story in the life of the Colorado State Forest Service, an agency that has performed exemplary for decades. I’m concerned that the action of this Bill will be demoralizing to a highly functional and well respected organization. I can tell you that all employees and retirees of the Colorado State Forest Service are distraught over the Lower North Fork Fire incident. They have tremendous pride in this organization. Separating a critical function will reduce its effectiveness and efficiency. Please give this action more though. This section of the bill is too much of a “knee jerk” reaction and, I’m afraid, will not be a solution.

I understand that poor communications amoung fire responders is partly the reason to pull the Fire Management Division away from the CSFS. Radio communication has always been a challenge amoung various emergency services including volunteer and municipal fire departments. That is one of the reasons why the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID created radio caches for wildland fire incidents. These caches provided radios with common frequencies and were issued to all responders on an incident. The State’s Division of Telecommunication can better explain the difficulty in having common communication amoung all the various state juristictions and agencies.

Once again, I ask that you please give this transfering of the Division of Fire Management of the Colroado State Forest Service of Colorado State University more thought before implementing.

Thank you.
Philip J. Hoefer
Concerned citizen

1. The $60,000 figure which is derived from the limit on the size of estates that may be collected by affidavit is not $60,000 of assets but $60,000 net of liens and encumbrances.

2. Although the affidavit for collection of a small estate may only be used to collect tangible and intangible personal property, real estate is, however, in determining whether the property owned by the decedent that would, net of liens and encumbrances, exceed the $60,000 amount.

A couple of examples where a small estate affidavit would be helpful here in Colorado include where the real estate is a home that is worth less than the amount due on a note secured by a deed of trust, or real estate located in some other jurisdiction where it could be probated after the personal property is collected.