Congratulations to the Wildfire Network for the 2020 Round 3 grant award from the Coalitions and Collaboratives, Inc's (COCO) Action, Implementation and Mitigation (AIM) program! Wildfire Network will be implementing a new cost-share program that provides job training and workforce development through fire mitigation and forest health projects on private land. This program is as a great example of how wildfire risk reduction can empower New Mexico communities. The Wildfire Network has been working toward firefighter safety, job development, and youth mentorship since 2013 and was a key partner in founding Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico.
Krys Nystrom, executive director of Wildfire Network, shares her vision:
Wildfire Network’s Youth Crew provides job training and real-world experience to New Mexico youth.
Wildfire Network’s crew chipping woody byproduct from a fuel-reduction thinning.
Fuelwood from the project will be utilized by property owners, taken by local firewood collectors, or distributed to families in need.
We will provide a cost-share program to residents within the East Mountain CWPP area, focusing on Sandia Park, Cedar Crest, and Tijeras. This program builds on the success of our existing wildfire and forest health mitigation program. In the past this work has been funded by a 2018 New Mexico Association of Counties grant and a 2019 AIFC Ready, Set, Go! grant. Costs for the mitigation will be split between the grant funds and each landowner.
This work will provide meaningful employment opportunities to New Mexico youth. Work will be performed by Wildfire Network's youth crew— a crew of four to five 18-26 year olds who are gaining real-world training in saw safety, maintenance and operation, ecological monitoring, and forest health.
In addition to employment opportunities, this project will provide a valuable source of fuelwood and wood products to surrounding communities. Slash from this project will be chipped and brought to a locally owned pig farm, where it will be composted into a rich soil amendment. Fuelwood will be utilized by the property owner, taken by local firewood vendors to be processed into saleable firewood, or distributed to local families in need.
This project combines fire mitigation principles like structural protection and strategic fuel breaks with social objectives like job training and fuelwood production. We have experience with previous grants in this CWPP area and have enabled over 70 acres of private land to be thinned, including 15 acres within the Sandia Park Scenic Byway firewise area. We are very appreciative of Coalitions and Collaboratives for funding this work and are in the process of gearing up for implementation.
To read about more of Wildfire Network’s great work throughout the state, visit their website: CLICK HERE.