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PRE-DISASTER ALL-HAZARDS MITIGATION PLAN Introduction Natural hazards such as wildfire, avalanche, severe winter storms and others are common to the mountainous regions of Colorado and can impact, sometimes significantly, every aspect of life in Pitkin and Eagle Counties, Colorado (the Counties). And today, human-caused hazards like technology failures and terrorism impose an equal, if not greater, threat to communities in Colorado and across the nation. To assist the Counties in reducing the impact on safety, property and critical infrastructure caused by all hazards, the Counties and incorporated jurisdictions (sometimes collectively referred to herein as the 'Counties') are augmenting their emergency planning efforts through development of this Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan ("PDMP" or the "Plan"). A requirement of the multi-jurisdictional PDMP is that each jurisdiction requesting approval of the plan must document that it has been formally adopted. In this case, the incorporated towns of Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt have actively participated in Plan development and have adopted the Plan along with Pitkin County. In Eagle County, participants that have adopted this Plan include the incorporated towns of Avon, Basalt, Eagle, Gypsum, Minturn, Red Cliff and Vail. Pitkin and Eagle Counties share a common geography, economic base and demographics, and they are subject to similar hazards. The Counties have also implemented formal and informal joint emergency response initiatives that have provided mutual benefit to the Counties and improved their residents' welfare. The Counties, therefore, have elected to develop a multi-jurisdictional Pre Disaster Mitigation Plan designed to leverage their common characteristics and planning resources and better prepare the Counties for potential hazards. The Plan itself, however, is utilized separately by each County to provide guidance for their specific disaster planning efforts. DISASTER MITIGATION ACT OF 2000 To better protect the Nation from disasters, particularly natural disasters, the U.s. Congress passed the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, enacted as the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). With this legislation the Federal government has placed renewed emphasis on pre-disaster mitigation of potential hazards. Most significant to state and local governments under the DMA 2000 are its amendments to Sections 203 (Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation) and 322 (Mitigation Planning). Section 203 of the DMA 2000 establishes a "National Pre-Disaster Mitigation Fund" to support a program that will "provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments to assist in the implementation of pre-disaster hazard mitigation measures that are cost-effective and designed to reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of property, including damage to critical services and facilities under the jurisdiction of the state or local governments." Section 322 of the DMA 2000 provides a new and revitalized approach to mitigation planning by: . Establishing a requirement and delivering new guidance for state, local and tribal mitigation plans;