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Briefing paper on the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction Project. Distributed at 12/18/15 Santa Fe Cohesive Strategy meeting.

Map and list of NMSF Santa Fe County Projects. Distributed at 12/18/15 Santa Fe Cohesive Strategy meeting.

A century of fire exclusion in dry forests across the United States has resulted in high fuel loads and increasing dominance by fire-intolerant vegetation. Federal, state, and private agencies have adopted a goal of managing forests to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire. Forest managers use a variety of tools to create desired conditions within forests; the most common are prescribed fire and mechanical thinning. These two treatments may be used separately or in combination, depending on restoration goals for the forest stand. Before these treatments can be applied, managers must justify their choice by documenting the effects of the treatment on other ecosystem components, such as understory vegetation. Understory vegetation in fire-dominated landscapes often has adapted to regrowing in frequent, low-severity fire regimes. Because fire releases nutrients and, by opening the canopy, allows light to the forest floor, the understory response is positive (e.g., increased growth or reproduction).

The New Mexico Association of Counties' guidelines for entities updating their Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

Handout describing New Mexico's Watershed Restoration Initiative. Presented by EMNRD Forestry Division at the October 16, 2015 NM Drought Task Force Watershed Management Committee/Coordinating Group meeting

Prepared by TNC for Ciudad SWCD, February 2015

Prepared by TNC for Ciudad SWCD, February 2015

Prepared by TNC for Ciudad SWCD, April 2015

Final Report to Ciudad SWCD, April 2015

This Landscape Restoration Strategy (LRS) was developed over seven months during 2014-2015 by the Taos Valley Watershed Coalition (TVWC). Coalition members manage or provide land use consultation on all of the adjoining jurisdictions within our focus area, which extends from the Rio Grande del Rancho on the south to the San Cristobal drainage on the north and also includes the Rio Fernando, Rio Pueblo, Rio Lucero, Rio Arroyo Seco, and Rio Hondo stream systems. Coalition members agree to focus on the goals of protecting, improving, and restoring the water quality, quantity, and ecological function of the forests and streams in the Rio Grande watershed within Taos County, to the benefit of both local and downstream water users. This LRS was developed by our membership to document our shared understanding of scientific data and community values, and to guide coordinated actions within our local watersheds.