Adams County Establishes Long-Term Recovery & Resiliency Strategic Plan

Adams County has created a Long-Term Recovery and Resiliency Strategic Plan to strengthen the county’s ability to anticipate, respond to, and recover from disruptions—such as natural disasters, health crises, and economic challenges—that could impact our community.

Coordinated by the county’s Office of Strategic Partnerships & Resilient Communities (SPARC), this plan brings together existing projects, programs, and partnerships into a single coordinated framework, helping identify available resources, addressing service gaps, and ensuring essential services remain operational during emergencies. It also focuses on improving internal systems and building strong relationships with local agencies, schools, businesses, and nonprofits so the network of resources available to residents and businesses in an emergency is expanded.

“While we hope we can avoid any scenarios that would necessitate the use of this plan, we realize we have to be prepared so we can instantly spring into action if the need arises,” said Lynn Baca, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. “I applaud the staff involved in creating this plan for their forward-thinking approach to making sure everyone in Adams County will be supported if any of these situations were to occur.”

Building on existing initiatives across the county, the Long-Term Recovery and Resiliency Plan examines a response to a variety of scenarios. With increasing risk from natural hazards such as extreme temperatures, wildfire, drought, floods, and severe storms, the need to better anticipate, respond to, absorb, adapt to, and thrive amidst natural and human-caused disasters has become increasingly critical to ensure lives and livelihoods are protected, risks are mitigated, and community members thrive.

The plan is organized around five core themes:
•    Data Utilization: Using accurate, accessible data to guide decisions and measure progress.
•    Organizational Capacity: Enhancing staffing, systems, and coordination across departments.
•    Communication, Education, and Awareness: Promoting preparedness through training, outreach, and engagement.
•    Stakeholder Engagement: Strengthening partnerships with community-based organizations and local stakeholders.
•    Funding and Finance: Securing long-term resources to support recovery and resilience priorities.

Within these themes, the plan includes specific goals and actions that provide a clear roadmap for building long-term resilience across county operations and the broader community.

“The safety and well-being of our residents is always our top priority,” said Baca. “This detailed plan shows that commitment to our community and ensures we have a deliberate course of action to follow to recovery if any of these unfortunate events occur within Adams County.”

For more information, visit the SPARC website at sparc.adcogov.org/resiliency or download the full Long-Term Recovery and Resiliency Strategic Plan as a pdf.