Wildfire Network Competes Nationally and Secures Funding for a New Cost-Share Program

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.

Action, Implementation, and Mitigation Grant Opportunity!

Coalitions and Collaboratives works to foster on-the-ground conservation efforts that protect and restore natural resources and local communities by supporting collaborative conservation organizations, who produce collective impacts through stakeholder driven efforts.

Coalitions and Collaboratives, Inc. (COCO) is pleased to announce the opening of Round 4 of the Action, Implementation and Mitigation (AIM) grant opportunity. This opportunity is designed to help organizations increase their capacity to accelerate fire adapted community concepts and reduce the risk from wildfire in the wildland-urban (WUI) interface across the U.S. The opportunity is open to non-profit organizations, collaborative groups, fire departments, conservation districts, tribes, counties and cities. Due to limited funding, homeowner or property owner associations, metro districts and road districts are not eligible to apply.

The AIM Team has changed the process in this round of funding to allow for a more interactive proposal process and to assure that the final proposals are well aligned with the program intent. For this round, we are requesting that interested organizations submit a Pre-Application Proposal (attached to this email). The Pre-Application Proposal is also available on the COCO website under ‘How to Apply’. The purpose of this proposal is for the AIM Team to learn about your capacity needs, mitigation project or program and provide feedback prior to selecting final applicants for full proposal submission. This process will allow the Team to work closely with the finalists to develop competitive proposals that align with the goals of the funding. Most responses should translate directly to the final application. Pre-Application Proposal Deadline: Friday, February 14, 2020, 5:00 p.m. MST. Email completed Pre-Proposal Applications to: aim@co-co.org

COCO is hosting an informational webinar on Thursday, January 9 @ 10:00AM MST. Please register for the webinar through this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2242706156644482571

If you are unable to attend the webinar, it will be recorded and available on COCO’s website https://co-co.org/get-involved/grants/aim-grant/

If have questions about the Pre-Proposal Application process please do not hesitate to contact Ali Lerch at ali@cusp.ws or Pam Wilson at paminhesp@gmail.com.

Working together for resilience – the story of the Francisquito and Rincon Fires of 2019

As the year ends we’d like to share a story from 2019 about the connection between building fire-adapted communities and restoring fire-adapted forests. We hope to hear more stories like this one from you about fire adaption in action in 2020. If you’d like to share your story contact us at gabe@forestguild.org.

Happy New Year from Fire Adapted New Mexico!

By Collin Haffey, Angie Krall, Jeremy Marshall, and Eytan Krasilovsky

Effects after the Francisquito Fire. photo by Jeremy Marshall

July 2019 saw two lightning started wildfires safely play their ecological role in the Tusas Mountains north of El Rito, New Mexico. These public lands managed by the Carson National Forest (Carson NF) are important to many communities in the area for grazing, firewood, hunting, fishing, recreation, and other needs. Having the right type of fire, in the right place and time is not an easy feat and isn’t happening as frequently as is needed to overcome the fire deficit in New Mexico and the West. This 2,021 acres of “good fire” on the El Rito District are the result of long-term planning and coordination among multiple groups.

New Mexico’s fire adapted dry forests need frequent low intensity fire to survive and thrive. Without it they become unnaturally dense and prone to high intensity fire, insects, and drought. Fire is also the building block for biodiversity by releasing seeds in the soil to establish the plants that are the foundation for pollinators, insects, and birds.

Smoke rises from the Alamosa Prescribed fire that was collaboratively implemented. photo by Sam Berry

The Francisquito and Rincon Fires were successful due to several factors that date back years. The Carson National Forest’s strategic planning for selective thinning and prescribed fire set the stage for a landscape with active ecologically based management. These projects were collaboratively managed including the Alamosa Prescribed Fire, the most recent prescribed burn. For that burn, the Carson National Forest worked with the recently formed All Hands All Lands Burn Team to provide roughly 50% of the fire resources. The Burn Team is a project of the Forest Stewards Guild and The Rio Grande Water Fund that leads burns when needed and supports existing burns with qualified firefighters and resources. The Alamosa Prescribed fire, completed in the fall of 2018, provided a “catcher’s mitt” on the east side of the Francisquito and Rincon fires that helped make the case for a safe and effective managed wildfire with a buffer to the east (See Map).

Map of the Francisquito and Rincon Fires from early in the fire’s development. The red area is the planning area for the managed wildfires and the green is the area the Forest Service was focused on returning fire to. The yellow and orange areas are previous prescribed fires. The red hashmakred areas are where thinning has been accomplished. Prescribed fires and thinning border the fire on nearly 2/3 thirds of it’s perimeter.

The Carson NF also took a community-based approach to communication about the fire events. Prior to the Alamosa Prescribed burn last fall, the village of Vallecitos had some negative experience with a managed wildfire that occurred in 2017. The Bonita Fire near Cañon Plaza did result in some minimal high severity effects. Unfortunately, sediment run-off from the burn scar during the monsoon season effected the village drinking water system which led to some distrust in managed fires. To bridge the gap, Carson NF staff initiated community meetings in the Village of Vallecitos; one around the kitchen table with coffee and banana bread with the most concerned of the neighbors, and one later in the form of a more formal presentation at the community center. Staff made an extra effort to engage community members to learn more about fire ecology and share the critical understanding that good fires prevent the bad ones. In this case, on the public lands in their backyards. Local stakeholders were invited to the morning briefings of the Alamosa Prescribed Burn. This was a great opportunity for community members to see the organization, preparedness, safety and medivac plan, along with tactics being used to safely implement the burn along their backyards and watershed. The extra effort paid off with buy-in from the community for the prescribed burn operations and stronger understanding and relationships that will serve us all in the future.

Just prior to the Alamosa prescribed fire, the Burn Team brought a small cache of HEPA air purifiers to loan out to smoke sensitive individuals. These devices filter out the smoke particulates that are unhealthy and can put stress on those with respiratory conditions. During the first day of the burn, community members alerted the individuals monitoring fire effects, who were in Vallecitos documenting the smoke, which they knew of some smoke sensitive individuals. The Burn Team worked with leadership from the El Rito Ranger District to deliver the filters to the households who requested them. In 2019 the Forest Stewards Guild expanded the filter loan program for the Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico Learning Network (facnm.org), and it was natural for a cache of HEPA filter to be permanently located at the El Rito Ranger Station.

Before any proposed managed fire, the Forest Agency Administrators (District Rangers/Line officers) reach out to internal staff about possible values at risk in proposed focal areas (archaeology/wildlife), to permittees with cattle in the area, New Mexico State Forestry about nearby private land concerns, effected counties and New Mexico Game and Fish. Congressional staffers are also notified. It is critical for the decision makers to understand and balance the risk to fire fighter safety and impacts to resources with the intended benefit.

Morning Briefing at the Incident Command Post in El Rito. photo by Jeremy Marshall

For the Francisquito/Rincon, the Type III Team organized a community meeting in El Rito, NM at the senior center and enlisted a team of public information officers to spread the word about our intentions for the managed wildfire. Permittees gave an enthusiastic thumbs up as they are fully aware of the benefits to their interests of increased forage opportunities for their livestock. The El Rito Campus of Northern New Mexico College proved a perfect location for Incident Command Post (ICP) for the Francisquito/Rincon managed fires; providing welcome “rent” income to the college during the summer months. The fire also employed a local range permittee who is a certified dozer operator that created line and improved roads for safe and effective firefighter operations.  When the managers of the Francisquito and Rincon Fires reached out to the communities early in the fires, the HEPA filters were locally placed and ready to support those sensitive to smoke.

Looking back at what could be learned from these fires, it became clear that active ecologically based management like prescribed fire in ponderosa pine creates enabling conditions to manage lightning caused fires responsibly. It was also apparent that robust community communications are important, including inviting cooperators and the public to morning briefings and working closely with grazing permittees. Working together, year-round, season after season, we can create resilient landscapes and fire adapted communities.

photo by Jeremy Marshall

Key Takeaways from the Gallup-Grants Learning Exchange

By: Gabe Kohler

FACNM Learning Exchanges Fall 2019

Participants walking into the forest to learn about prescribed fire treatments surrounding Cottonwood Gulch’s Basecamp in Thoreau, NM.

I helped organize two FACNM learning exchanges in northern New Mexico this fall through a partnership between The Forest Stewards Guild, the BLM, New Mexico State Forestry, and New Mexico Counties. One exchange took place in the Western Jemez area at Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral and another in the Gallup/ Grants area at Cottonwood Gulch Basecamp in Thoreau, NM. This post is a summary of the takeaways from the Gallup-Grants learning exchange. To read about the Western Jemez learning exchange, click here.

The Gallup-Grants Learning Exchange

Participants learning about the Fire Adapted Communities framework at Cottonwood Gulch Basecamp in Thoreau, NM.

This exchange took place at Cottonwood Gulch Basecamp in Thoreau, New Mexico. The Forest Stewards Guild is deeply involved in a longstanding network of partnerships in the Gallup-Grants area and has partnered with Cottonwood Gulch on fire mitigation projects for almost 20 years. As a new Guild employee, I was excited to continue this partnership by having the Gallup-Grants exchange take place at the Gulch’s Basecamp in Thoreau, NM.

The morning session at the Gallup-Grants exchange ran similar to the Western Jemez exchange. Fifteen participants gathered around a wood stove in Cottonwood Gulch’s new bunkhouse and took part in impromptu networking about the challenges and possible takeaways that they hoped to address throughout the day.

Key Challenges included:

1.     Slash removal -- chipping, burning, and fuel wood programs

2.     Interagency conflict/coordination on fire response

• Communication via radio and lack of interoperability

• Volunteer fire departments need incident command training

3.     Communication about fire

• Use science rather than reinforcing myth (check out this blogpost)

• The Wildfire Podcast

• FireWorks Curriculum  

• Language to use with the general public

4.     Managed wildland fire – Community work changes decision space

5.     Small-scale community work

• Structure protection

• Defensible space

6.     Absentee landowners

7.     Capturing teachable moments with public

• Unified message

• nmfireinfo.com

Matt Baker-White from Cottonwood Gulch shared his experience cultivating partnerships to leverage resources for fire mitigation on the Gulch’s land.

After the impromptu networking exercise, we asked participants to report some of the challenges that they heard during from others. This report-back generated lots of good discussion amongst the group about the social acceptability of managed wildland fire, interagency communication, the role of volunteer fire departments in the incident command structure of state and federal agencies, information channels for prescribed fire, and communication with the general public about the differences between prescribed fire and wildfire.

After lunch, the group moved outside to see some of the fire mitigation projects on Cottonwood Gulch’s property and on the nearby Forest Service land. Some key takeaways from the afternoon field visits were:

• Landowners and representatives of the Timberlake Ranch Fire Mitigation Committee shared that outreach to small private forest owners would be more effective if approached from a wildlife perspective than from a fire mitigation perspective.

• Timberlake representatives connected with Tim Kirkpatrick from the New Mexico Prescribed Fire Council about slash disposal and the possibility of pile burning.

• Matt Baker-White, the interim Director of Cottonwood Gulch, connected with Todd Haines from New Mexico State Forestry about creating a fire response plan for Cottonwood Gulch’s basecamp.

• Matt Baker-White provided valuable feedback to FACNM about recognizing the history of fire use by early Native American and Chicano inhabitants of Northern New Mexico.

• Eddie Baca, Fire Management Officer on the nearby Mt. Taylor Ranger District, described to homeowners how the work they do preparing their communities helps the decision space of his incident command team by reducing the risk of ember ignitions and spot fires to people’s homes.

• Eddie Baca was able to clear up confusion and misunderstanding about how a recent 2018 wildfire started and spread.

• The group saw multiple examples of how prescribed fire can be used, from small ~30 acre treatments on the Gulch’s property, to larger landscape treatments on Forest Service land.

Looking Forward

At the end of the day, the participants of both exchanges swapped contact information and discussed opportunities to work together in the future. By creating a space for participants to learn and openly discuss challenges, these exchange contributed to a shared understanding amongst participants that will strengthen the foundation for future work in these landscapes. I look forward to contributing to the good fire mitigation work that these exchanges shared by working our conversations and connections into project ideas on the landscape.

Acknowledgments

These recent learning exchanges were made possible by the generous support of the BLM New Mexico, New Mexico Counties, the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, and the Taos Ski Valley Foundation.

Key Takeaways from the Western Jemez Learning Exchange

By: Gabe Kohler

FACNM Learning Exchanges Fall 2019

Participants arriving to the Western Jemez exchange at Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral.

I helped organize two FACNM learning exchanges in northern New Mexico this fall through a partnership between The Forest Stewards Guild, the BLM, New Mexico State Forestry, and New Mexico Counties. One exchange took place in the Western Jemez area at Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral and another in the Gallup/ Grants area at Cottonwood Gulch Basecamp in Thoreau, NM. This post is a summary of the takeaways from the Western Jemez learning exchange. Stay tuned for a summary of the Gallup-Grants learning exchange!

The Western Jemez Learning Exchange

Despite the snow, participants were excited to learn about the resources available through the New Mexico Prescribed Fire Council.

The Western Jemez learning exchange took place at Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral. Rancho del Chaparral is located at around 7,800 feet of elevation in a mixed conifer forest about an hour in on dirt and gravel Forest Service roads. When I woke up to about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, I was doubting whether people would make the trip up. As a testament to the tenacity of the people that live and work in these mountains, by 10 am the lodge had filled up with 25 people and we had a warm fire in the hearth.

The impromptu networking exercise was effective at getting participants to share their challenges and laid a foundation for the exchange.

Ali Lerch, from Coalitions and Collaboratives, joined us for the learning exchange and led the morning session with some creative exercises to break the ice. Ali channels her background in rural studies to create an open and respectful platform for engaging with communities. At the Jemez exchange, Ali focused on the importance of regional business resilience and partnerships in rural areas to support communities.

We used an exercise from Liberating Structures called impromptu networking that asks participants to pair up and share their 1) personal challenges in wildfire preparedness, and 2) what they hoped to take away from the learning exchange.

Key challenges included:

1.     Fear and paranoia of prescribed fire and wildfire

2.     Protecting Girl Scouts from wildfire risk in forested camp setting

• Mitigation Projects

• Evacuation and response

3.     Understanding and managing landowner expectations of forest treatments

4.     Ways of providing access for community members to see prescribed fire or thinning projects in person

5.     Limited capacity of rural communities and need for regional coordination

6.     Pueblo of Jemez has thinning workforce and needs to find money and project to take their work to the regional level

7.     Better tools for communicating difference between good fire and bad fire

8.     Steps toward building prescribed fire workforce

After the first exercise we asked participants to think creatively about who should be added to future conversation about making the Western Jemez region better adapted to wildfire. We broke up in to small groups and brainstormed two questions 1) Who are the stakeholders in my community or region, and 2) Are there any gaps that need to be filled and how can we begin to address these?

 Participants recommended increased engagement with:

• Health service providers

• Ranchers and rangeland permitees

• Local governments

• Economic development organizations or officials

• Press/media

• Social scientists willing to study fear and perception of forest treatments

• Absentee owners

• Humane Society

• Faith-based organizations

We had planned for Todd Haines from New Mexico State Forestry to show us various mitigation treatments throughout the Girl Scouts Camp, but due to the snow and cold weather, we opted to discuss these options in doors. Some key takeaways from the afternoon discussion that Todd facilitated were:

• Ponderosa Christian Camp connected with Todd Haines about creating a fire response plan similar to the Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral’s.

• The group discussed various methods for slash disposal following a mitigation treatment and categorized these based on the projects location and objectives.

• Natural Resource Conservation Service representative, Jill Mumford, connected with various landowners and organizations about cost-share programs and future project ideas.

• Cecilia Chavez, the Director of Program and Innovation with the Girl Scouts of New Mexico thought creatively about how older Girl Scouts campers could provide a workforce in the region for mitigation work.

• Noah Trujillo with Jemez Electric Cooperative talked with Tim Kirkpatrick from the New Mexico Prescribed Fire Council about how FEMA grant programs for mitigation may be used to increase the right of ways around powerlines on private land.

• Carey Beam, economic development coordinator in Cuba, NM, discussed the creation of a newsletter the Cuba community about business resilience following wildfire.  

Our afternoon session was inside due to the weather. Todd Haines from New Mexico State Forestry led the group in a conversation about fire mitigation projects, including: fuel breaks, thinning, and slash disposal.

I think the list of connections above demonstrates how an open and interactive event can let the network do some of the work for you. These connections were surprising and emerged out of discussion amongst participants and not from specific agenda items that I had planned. I strongly encourage the use of exercises like impromptu networking to start building connections among community members.

Stay tuned for a summary of the Gallup-Grants learning exchange!

Acknowledgments

These recent learning exchanges were made possible by the generous support of the BLM New Mexico, New Mexico Counties, the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, and the Taos Ski Valley Foundation.

Five Do's and Don'ts of Hosting a Learning Exchange: Reflections from Two FACNM Exchanges

By: Gabe Kohler, Program Coordinator, The Forest Stewards Guild

Building our FAC Toolkit

To create fire adapted communities we will need novel and creative ways of engaging with new audiences. We need methods for sharing ideas that can help reframe who has a voice and a responsibility in this work. Learning exchanges are a great tool in this effort.

At a learning exchange the goal is sharing information between two or more parties in the spirit of learning from each other’s successes and failures. Learning exchanges flip the script of the typical presentation format, where information is conveyed from an “expert” to an “audience,” to a format that is inclusive and empowering to participants that may not involve themselves in these types of conversations regularly. 

FACNM Learning Exchanges Fall 2019

The FACNM table cloth and banner were contributed through a partnership with the BLM.

I organized two FACNM learning exchanges in northern New Mexico this fall through a partnership between The Forest Stewards Guild, the BLM, New Mexico State Forestry, and New Mexico Counties. One exchange took place in the Western Jemez area and another in the Gallup/ Grants area in Thoreau, NM. I am far from an expert, but I’d like to share my experience in the hope that others can learn from our successes and challenges and continue to use this type of event for building Fire Adapted Communities.

Note: I hosted learning exchanges as an outsider to the communities where the exchanges took place and some of my challenges reflect that. Many of you are more likely to host a learning exchange locally, despite this difference, I think many of these lessons will be relevant to you.

Stay tuned for event summaries of the Western Jemez and Gallup-Grants learning exchanges in an upcoming blog post!

Planning a Learning Exchange – Lessons Learned

Agenda, Participant List, and Outreach

Creating the agendas and participant lists for the learning exchange was a real challenge. You need enough specificity in topic areas to start discussion while still leaving space for participants to dig into any locally-specific topics that emerge in conversation. So topics you focus on should influence who you invite and who you invite will influence the topics you focus on. This can make it difficult to know where to start.

Reach out to close participants early on and ask them for help.

Don’t try to build your agenda without topic suggestions from your participants.

By spending time up-front refining your agenda to local interests you can increase the likelihood that people will want to commit to attending. This does not require a lot of work, but it does require lead time. If possible, give yourself a couple months to plan the agenda and conduct outreach.

To get started:

• Reach out to close partners that live or work in your area of focus and ask them what challenges they face in their wildfire adaptation work and what topic areas they recommend.  Do this with a couple people, if possible.

• Using the broad topics that were recommended, create a save-the-date.

• Send out the save-the-date, and maybe make a phone call, to a core group of participants about a month-and-a-half before the event and see what type of response you get.

• As participants commit to attending, reach out to them and ask them about the challenges they face with wildfire adaptation and what sessions they would recommend. This should begin to narrow your topic areas in a way that matches the local or regional conversation.

• If someone on your participant list is showing interest in a particular topic, work with them to form it into a brief ~30 minute session for the exchange and draft some questions to focus the group’s conversation around this topic area.

Starting and Tracking Conversation

Ask participants to go out of their comfort zone and talk with new people.

Don’t let participants sit or group with people they already know.

Participants shared the challenges they face and what they hoped to get out of the exchange toward fire adaptation.

At both learning exchanges we used an exercise from Liberating Structures called impromptu networking. I learned this technique from FAC rockstar Ali Lerch who joined us for the Western Jemez exchange. Ali channels her education in rural studies through her role as a wildfire mitigation program manager to create an open and respectful platform for community engagement.  

Impromptu Networking asks participants to pair up with a few different people and share their 1) personal challenges in wildfire preparedness, and 2) what they hope to take away from the learning exchange. This exercise got participants talking and helped identify challenges for discussion throughout the day. At both exchanges this exercise let people show their excitement and knowledge for our FAC work and we had to pull them away from these conversations to continue with the day.

At the end of the exercise we asked participants to stay seated with the last person they talked with to make an effort to sit next to people they didn’t know. Then participants were asked to report back about what they heard from other participants. In the Gallup-Grants exchange we recorded these challenges and desired take-aways at the beginning of the exchange and used these to facilitate discussion throughout the day. I highly recommend an exercise like impromptu networking to get conversation started and to focus participant interests throughout the exchange.

Allow it to get quiet between comments to allow room for other voices.

Don’t over-facilitate or force information.

Breaking up the Day with Field Visits and Short Sessions

Eddie Baca, Fire Management Officer with Mt. Taylor Ranger District, showing the group a strategic fuel break near the community of Bluewater. This work was facilitated by McKinley County’s 2013 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) listing this interface as high risk.

For the exchanges that I organized, I chose to have morning sessions devoted to the social aspects of this work, such as community building, networking, and resource coordination. After we had started conversations through these morning sessions, I planned afternoon sessions outside where we could walk around and use field visits to prompt discussions around a particular topic. For example, at the Western Jemez learning exchange we had a field visit to a safety zone on the Girl Scouts camp and talked about wildfire response and evacuation in our communities. Moving from inside to outside woke people up after lunch. Another way to keep participants engaged is to allow some transition time between sessions and field sites to create more space for conversation.

The Location

Pick a location that is familiar to participants or run by members of the community

Don’t ask participants to go to a faraway event space that does not support their community

The Western Jemez learning exchange in the lodge at Girl Scouts Camp Rancho del Chaparral. Cecilia Chavez, Director of Program and Innovation with Girl Scouts New Mexico was an active participant and host.

For both the Western Jemez exchange and the Gallup-Grants exchange, the locations were important to how the events unfolded. The Rancho del Chaparral Girl Scouts Camp was particularly apt because many of the locals had a direct connection to it. Many of them had worked, attended camp, or had hosted a previous event there. This made people feel like they were more at home and less at a conference, allowing FACNM to meet them in their community instead of them coming to us. The same was true at Cottonwood Gulch for the Gallup-Grants exchange. The Gulch has worked in partnership with many of the local fire resources for over a decade and had hosted and fed a lot of local fire resources during a collaborative burn on their property.

Seeking a community hub to host you event will help set the stage for addressing local issues. These organizations may take different forms, faith-based organizations, local VFD’s, elementary schools, and community libraries would all make a good location for an exchange.

Resources

If you want more information about learning exchanges, there are some great resources available through the national Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (Shoutout to the National Network!). Also, be sure to check out Liberating Structures for facilitation techniques that shake up the status quo.

Acknowledgments

These recent learning exchanges were made possible by the generous support of the BLM New Mexico, New Mexico Counties, the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, and the Taos Ski Valley Foundation.

Reconstructing the Path of a Wildfire: A Day with New Mexico Fire Investigators

By: Scott Chalmers, Law Enforcement Officer, New Mexico State Forestry

In the Pecos Basin of southeast New Mexico, a land of empty prairie crossed by a rectangular network of straight roads, the Pecos River threads its way past Roswell on its slow journey to the Rio Grande. Here, the Pecos meanders from side to side across a wide and shallow basin.

Just east of Roswell, Tobias Lucero and I were standing on a bank of the Pecos River, looking out over a former channel that had become separated from the main flow of water. In spring, fish and wildlife seek refuge in these wetlands, where they can spawn and find food. Three days earlier, this landscape had been mostly green.

When we arrived, however, it was burned so thoroughly that it looked as if it may as well have all combusted in an instant. But to Lucero and me, the river bank and what remained around it held all the clues needed to pinpoint the origin and cause of the Patterson Fire, which had threatened ten homes along the river and burned nearly a thousand acres of farmland in May.

Behind many fires, an investigator and a spark

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire; and by extension, fire investigators. My job is to conduct fire investigations for the Forestry Division of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. This agency serves the people of New Mexico in many important ways: one of these is to extinguish wildfires that arise on some 43 million acres of state and private lands. It’s a big responsibility. But fire doesn’t always respect administrative boundaries, so firefighters often work together to get the job done. For example, Lucero is a fire investigator working for Bernalillo County; today, he is my partner and mentor.

The investigator’s job is to identify an origin, a cause and a responsible party. And as fires grow larger and more costly to control, their work is becoming more important than ever. In 2011, the Las Conchas Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in north-central New Mexico and cost $48.5 million to put out. It’s up to the wildfire investigator, among others, to decide who gets the bill.

An investigator is part detective and part scientist. They collect and analyze data, test hypotheses, and, until they conclude otherwise, treat every fire as potential arson. Any investigator will tell you, however, that most fires start by accident. There are four basic directions the results of a fire investigation can lead:

· Administrative action to recover firefighting expenses.

· Civil claims to recover firefighting expenses and/or property damage.

· Criminal prosecution.

· To assist in policy development, implementation of fire prevention programs, and pre-fire planning.

Interpreting burn patterns is key to reconstructing a fire’s path

With each new fire, New Mexicans are asking themselves: How did this happen? Walking along the Pecos River, Lucero and I were thinking about three things: weather, topography and fuels. These are the main ingredients of fire behavior, and they form the context within which the investigator considers how a fire ignited and spread.

Our first step was to follow the footprints that the fire left behind as it traveled across the landscape. Only after an investigator has tracked a fire back to its source will he begin searching for clues of the cause. The cause is often something subtle: a cigarette dropped in dry grass, or a fleck of carbon expelled from a car tailpipe.

Lucero and I examined a grove of scorched trees growing on the riverbank. Usually, a fire consumes what burns easily and spares what does not. Here, the fire had grown larger as it advanced; the backsides of the trees were burned more heavily than the fronts.

In front of the trees, a round stone lay wedged in the ground. Behind the stone, some unburned grass had survived; in front of it, scorched earth. As the fire advanced on the stone, it diverged, like a stream flowing around a boulder.

Continuing past the stone, islands of green grass stood out against the black earth. Here and there, a small bush had survived the flames; its yellowed leaves were curled inward toward the heat source. Leaf curls are caused by more mild, slower-moving burns. Picking our way through the scorched landscape, carefully and deliberately, Lucero and I reconstructed the fire’s overall burn pattern.

As wildfires in New Mexico become more frequent and costly to control, the investigator’s work is becoming more important than ever. As it happens, the Patterson Fire wasn’t caused by a person at all: rather, it was lightning. A cloud-to-ground lightning strike generates heat approaching 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit—which is five times hotter than the surface of the sun. One lightning strike, we concluded, found its way into a patch of dry grass, igniting a small fire that likely smoldered for a couple of hours until the wind picked up. Then it was off to the races.

Further Reading

NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations 2017. National Fire Protection Association, 2017. Print.

Guide to Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination 2016. National Wildfire Coordinating Group, 2016. Print.

The Patterson Fire burns along the Pecos River near Roswell, New Mexico on May 16, 2019. New Mexico State Parks photo by Joe Desjardins.

A wildfire exhibits many areas of progression. Each area burns with varying intensity and will leave indicators that display a distinct vector characteristic. National Wildfire Coordinating Group diagram.

Fire investigation students place color-coded pin flags like the red, yellow and blue ones in this picture to indicate which direction the fire was moving at a given point. Next, they will search the origin area for physical evidence of an ignition source. New Mexico State Forestry photo by Scott Chalmers.

An example of a fire direction indicator: protection occurs when fuels are shielded from heat damage. Grasses in front of the rock (bottom) seen in this picture were fully exposed to the fire’s advance movement and show a clean burn line. Grasses behind the rock (top) were protected. National Wildfire Coordinating Group photo.

Curling occurs when green leaves curl inward toward the heat source. This usually occurs with slower moving, lighter burns associated with backing and lateral fire movement. National Wildfire Coordinating Group photo.

Santa Fe Reporter Cover Story About the Role of Prescribed Fire in Forest Restoration, Risk Reduction, and Climate Resilience

The water for cities throughout the west originates in forested watersheds that rely on fire as a key ecological disturbance to maintain their function and resilience. The cover story in the most recent edition of the Santa Fe Reporter asks the question, “Does water depend on fire too?”

You can read the article, Prescribed Protection: Why fire holds the keys to securing fresh water and adapting to a changing climate on the Santa Fe Reporters website

Multi-jurisdictional Prescribed Fire Planned for Cerro Del Aire Collaborative Forest Restoration Project Landscape.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 07, 2019

Contact:         Eytan Krasilovsky, 505-470-0185, eytan@forestguild.org or Esmé Cadiente, 505-470-0032, esme@forestguild.org

Multi-jurisdictional Prescribed Fire Planned for Cerro Del Aire Collaborative Forest Restoration Project Landscape.

Santa Fe, NM – The Forest Stewards Guild (FSG), working closely with the New Mexico State Land Office (SLO) and the Taos Field Office (TFO) of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have been preparing the multi-jurisdictional Cerro del Aire landscape, located 7 miles from Tres Piedras, NM, for a prescribed burn since 2016.

This Collaborative Forest Restoration Program project is aimed at protecting soil integrity, maintaining forest health and reducing wildfire risk to nearby communities. The checker-boarded ownership of the land in the project area makes implementing forest restoration, prescribed fire, and managed wildfire challenging. A solution for land managers like the SLO and the TFO is to coordinate their treatments, and work together toward the shared goal of increasing forest health and creating resilient forests and communities in Northern New Mexico.

The forests in the Cerro Del Aire landscape are adapted to fire and need low-intensity burns to remain healthy and reduce the risk of a catastrophic wildfire that could threaten nearby communities. A prescribed burn is planned for this week with ignitions beginning on Tuesday, October 8th (weather dependent). The burn team will be led by the BLM and will be comprised of qualified wildland firefighters from the SLO, FSG and the BLM. In addition, the Forest Stewards Fire and Fuels Youth Crew will aid in the operations. This crew is part of a program that prepares participants for careers in natural resource management by providing them with training, certifications and hands-on experience. The youth are qualified to National Wildfire Coordinating Group wildland firefighting standards.

Smoke will be closely monitored during the burn in compliance with the NM Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau standards. Smoke may settle overnight in the surrounding areas including Tres Piedras, Carson, Pilar, Taos, Lama, and Questa but should disperse the following morning.  Smoke-sensitive individuals can borrow a HEPA filter for use in their homes for the duration of the burn from the Forest Stewards Guild at no cost. Information on smoke, human health, and the HEPA Filter Loan Program can be accessed here, https://facnm.org/smoke#smokeanchor5.   

For more information call/text 505-470-0185.

New Directory for FACNM!

We’re happy to announce a new directory interface for Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico! We are adding more functionality as we go, so please send your feedback of what would make the directory more functional for you! Contact sam@forestguild.org

Go check it out at: www.facnm.org/directory

New Features:

Search

You can now search by name, key word, or location by clicking the Search button in the top left. For example, you can now search for all FACNM members within 25 miles of Albuquerque (there are 7!). We are working to add more ways to search, such as by profession.

Connect

To connect with a FACNM Member click the “Connect” button below their profile. This will allow you to send an email to them through the directory, and they will be able to reply to you directly. As a member, this keeps your email secret but allows people to connect with you.

Map

The map shows where FACNM members are located! We are working to add more functionality to the map.

Update your profile! Click the EDIT button

If you were already in the directory your profile has been moved over, but you are now able to add a photo or update your profile at any time by clicking the “Edit” button in the top right above the Map and entering the email that you originally signed up with.  Then select your account and add a photo or change your information.

Join as a Member! Click the “Add” button

If you haven’t joined the directory click the “Add” above the map and create an account. Make sure when you select a location to click on the address suggested by Google to be placed on the map.

Living with Fire: Do You Know What it Takes to Survive Wildfire?

This information was adapted from Fire Adapted Communities: The Next Step in Wildfire Preparedness,  publication #SP-11-01, with permission from University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the Living With Fire Program

By: Teresa Rigby, BLM Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist; Gabe Kohler; Forest Stewards Guild Program Coordinator

Fire adapted communities are located within fire prone areas, but require little assistance from firefighters during a wildfire. Residents of these communities accept the responsibility for living in an area with high fire hazard. They have the knowledge and skills to:

1.     Prepare their homes and property to survive wildfire.

2.     Evacuate early, safely, and effectively.

3.     Survive, if trapped by wildfire.

As the impacts of wildfires increase throughout New Mexico and worldwide, preparedness can make the difference between irreplaceable loss of life and property and escaping with the people and things that we value most. Faced with this increasing risk of wildfire, New Mexico’s local, state and federal firefighting agencies have come together to promote Living With Fire FAC concepts. This approach emphasizes the effectiveness of community action over individual, isolated efforts to decreasing wildfire risk.

With all the moisture we in New Mexico throughout 2019, and the vegetation growth that came with it, we can expect fire hazard to increase as this new vegetation dries out. So even in times when the air is clear of wildfire smoke and there is still water in our creeks and streams, it is important that we do not get complacent. Getting your neighbors or friends together, popping some popcorn, and discussing these concepts in the comfort and safety of the fire off-season may create space for more productive discussion then times when stress levels are high and we feel our options are limited. If you or someone in your community needs ideas about how to start these kinds of conversations, please contact Gabe Kohler at gabe@forestguild.org. For popcorn recipes click HERE. You got this!!

This post summarizes key concepts from the Living With Fire guide. To view the full guide click HERE. These concepts reflect the combined experience of hundreds of firefighters, and are sure to make you look like a wildfire mitigation expert when you unveil them to your neighbors.

Community Protection

Use these Living With Fire concepts to engage your community in wildfire preparedness 

Fuelbreak: A fuelbreak is a strip of land where highly flammable vegetation is removed to reduce the wildfire threat. Fuelbreaks change fire behavior by slowing it down, reducing the length of fames and preventing the fire from reaching tree canopies. Fuelbreaks can improve the success of fire retardant dropped from the air, provide a safer area for firefighters to operate and allow for easier creation of firelines (a strip of bare ground established during a wildfire). Shaded and greenstrip are types of fuelbreaks. Community fuelbreaks are particularly effective when integrated with the defensible space of adjacent homes. They can be manmade or naturally occurring (rock outcrops, rivers and meadows).

Safe Area: A safe area is a designated location within a community where people can go to wait out a wildfire. Often, safe areas are ball fields, irrigated pastures, parks and parking lots.

Access

Use these Living With Fire concepts to engage your community in wildfire preparedness

Address: The home address should be readily visible from the street. The address sign should be made of reflective, noncombustible material with characters at least 4 inches high.

Gated Driveways: Electronically operated driveway gates require key access for local fire departments and districts.

Turnarounds: Homes located at the end of long driveways or dead-end roads should have turnaround areas suitable for large fire equipment. Turnarounds can be a cul-de-sac with at least a 45-foot radius or a location suitable for a 3-point turn.

Turnouts: Homes located at the end of long, narrow streets and dead ends can deter firefighters and complicate evacuation. If possible, create turnouts in the driveway and access roads that will allow two-way traffic. 

Driveway Clearance: Remove flammable vegetation extending at least 10 feet from both sides of the driveway. Overhead obstructions (overhanging branches and power lines) should be removed or raised to provide at least a 13½-foot vertical clearance.

Secondary Road: When communities only have one way in and out, evacuation of residents while emergency responders are arriving can result in traffic congestion and potentially dangerous driving conditions. A second access road, even one only used for emergency purposes, can improve traffic flow during a wildfire and provide an alternate escape route.

Street Signs: Street signs should be posted at each intersection leading to your home. Each sign should feature characters that are at least 4 inches high and should be made of reflective, noncombustible material.

Bridges and Culverts: Inadequately built bridges and culverts may prevent firefighting equipment from reaching your home. Ask your local fire marshal about proper bridge and culvert design for your area.

Road Width and Grade: Roads should be at least 20 feet wide and long driveways should be at least 12 feet wide with a steepness grade of less than 12 percent.

Defensible Space

Use these Living With Fire concepts to engage your community in wildfire preparedness

Wildland Fuel Reduction Area: This area usually lies beyond the residential landscape area and is where sagebrush, cheatgrass, piñon and other wild plants grow. Within this area:

·      Remove all dead vegetation (dead shrubs, dried grass and fallen branches).

·      Thin out thick shrubs and trees to create a separation between them.

·      Prevent ladder fuels by removing low tree branches, and removing or pruning any shrubs under the tree.

Noncombustible Area: Create a Noncombustible Area at least 5 feet wide around the base of your home. This area needs to have a very low potential for ignition from flying embers. Use irrigated herbaceous plants (lawn, ground cover and flowers), rock mulches, or hard surfaces (concrete, brick and pavers) in this area. Keep it free of woodpiles, wood mulches, dead plants, dried leaves and needles, flammable shrubs (sagebrush and juniper) and debris.

Lean, Clean and Green Area: For a distance of at least 30 feet from the home, there should be a lean, clean and green area. Lean indicates that only a small amount of flammable vegetation, if any, is present within 30 feet of the house. Clean means there is no accumulation of dead vegetation or flammable debris within the area. Green denotes that plants located within this area are kept healthy, green and irrigated during fire season. For most homeowners, the lean, clean and green area is the residential landscape. This area often has irrigation, contains ornamental plants and is routinely maintained.

Built Environment

Use these Living With Fire concepts to engage your community in wildfire preparedness

Eaves: Embers can accumulate under open eaves and enter the attic through gaps in construction materials. Covering the underside of the eaves with a soft, or boxing in the eaves, reduces the ember threat. Enclose eaves with fiber cement board or 5/8-inch-thick, high-grade plywood. If enclosing eaves is not possible, fill gaps under open eaves with caulk.  

Exterior Siding: Wood products (boards, panels and shingles) are common siding materials. However, they are combustible and not good choices for fire-prone areas. Noncombustible siding materials (stucco, brick, cement board and steel) are better choices. If using noncombustible siding materials is not feasible, keep siding in good condition and replace materials in poor condition.  

Windows and Skylights: Windows are one of the weakest parts of a home and usually break before the structure ignites. This allows burning embers and heat to enter the home, which may lead to internal ignition. Single-pane windows and large windows are particularly vulnerable. In high fire-hazard areas, install windows that are at least double-glazed and that utilize tempered glass for the exterior pane. The type of window frame (wood, aluminum or vinyl) is not as critical. However, vinyl frames should have metal reinforcements. Keep skylights free of pine needles leaves and other debris, and remove overhanging branches. If skylights are to be placed on steep pitched roofs that face large amounts of nearby fuels (a mature pine tree or another house), consider using flat ones constructed of double-pane glass.

Vents: Attic, eave and foundation vents are potential entry points for embers. All vent openings should be covered with 1/8-inch or smaller wire mesh. Another option is to install ember-resistant vents. Do not permanently cover vents, as they play a critical role in preventing wood rot.

Rain Gutters: Rain gutters trap flying embers. Always keep rain gutters free of leaves, needles and debris. Check and clean them several times during fire season.

Chimneys: Chimney and stovepipe openings should be screened with an approved spark arrestor cap.

Roof: Homes with wood-shake or shingle roofs are much more likely to be destroyed during a wildfire than homes with fire-resistant roofs. Consider replacing wood-shake or shingle roofs with a Class-A fire-resistant type (composition, metal or tile). Openings in roofing materials, such as the open ends of barrel tiles, should be plugged to prevent ember entry and debris accumulation. Regardless of the type of roof, including a flat roof, keep it free of fallen leaves, needles and branches.

Firewood: Firewood stacks should be located at least 30 feet from the home. If the stacks are stored uphill from the house, make sure that burning firewood cannot roll downhill and ignite the home. Consider using an ember-resistant firewood cover.

Decks: Decks using wood and wood-plastic materials are often combustible. Keep all deck materials in good condition. As an option, consider using fire-resistant rated materials. Routinely remove combustible debris (pine needles, leaves, twigs and weeds) from the gaps between deck boards and under the deck. Enclosing the sides of the deck may reduce this type of maintenance. Do not store combustible materials under the deck.

Flammable Items: Keep the porch, deck and other areas of the home free of easily combustible materials (baskets, dried flower arrangements, newspapers, pine needles and debris).

Engaging your neighbors in a conversation about how to improve community protection, access, defensible space, and the built environment around your home may make all the difference. By the time wildfire has started, it is too late. It takes leadership and initiative before the fire to save lives and protect property through wildfire adaptation. If you, or someone in your neighborhood has what it takes to develop these leadership skills, please reach out to Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico, and we can help support you in these challenging conversations. For more information email Gabe Kohler at gabe@forestguild.org.  

Additional Resources

 For a toolkit on being a community fire ambassador, check out: Santafefireshed.org/ambassador

After the Fire: Low Cost Flooding and Erosion Mitigation Strategies

By: Lindsey Quam, Santa Clara Pueblo Forestry Director and Gabe Kohler, Forest Stewards Guild Program Coordinator

Since wildfire is inevitable, the work to develop fire adapted communities is never done. This is why it’s so important that as a network we discuss strategies for adapting to wildfire before and after the fire. A recent Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico workshop in Santa Clara Pueblo focused on strategies for protecting our communities from flooding and erosion after a wildfire has occurred. Planning for after a wildfire may help shift conversation about wildfire potential from ‘if’ to ‘when’.

On May 24th, Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) leaders and partners from Santa Clara Pueblo in Northern New Mexico, gathered for an interactive workshop. It was a small, close-knit group  with representatives from 4 different organizations including Santa Clara Pueblo Forestry, The Santa Clara Office of Emergency Management, The Forest Stewards Guild, and Padilla Logging. The diverse group of partners and community members were able to productively identify lessons learned from the ongoing response and recovery efforts in Santa Clara Canyon following the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire.

A key goal of the FACNM network is to facilitate peer-to-peer information sharing to empower people to work toward wildfire adaptation in their communities. In addition to highly engineered, state-of-the-art erosion and flooding prevention structures, the pueblo implemented many low-cost structures. These low cost methods were part of a landscape scale effort to mitigate flooding and erosion after the Los Conchas fire, and are powerful tools for response and recovery that can be used to leverage the people-power in any community and make an impact against flooding and erosion before it occurs.

The project area is contained within the Santa Clara Creek Watershed and includes over 32,000 acres, 24 miles of stream, and 5,000 feet of elevation gradient.

Stream-first Wildfire Recovery

The Las Conchas wildfire burned more than 150,000 acres adjacent to the community of Santa Clara, and created extreme flooding and erosion in Santa Clara Creek (more info here). Santa Clara Creek is regarded as a sacred source of life to the people of Santa Clara Pueblo,  so the Tribe took a ‘stream-first’ approach to prioritizing natural stream function. Its flood mitigation and restoration design emphasized the use of natural materials as infrastructure, which maximized ecosystem benefits and decreased the cost.

Erosion Control

Erosion control structures were installed in tributaries to stop sediment delivery upstream, minimize head cutting, and aggrade incised channels. The structures used were cost-effective, being built by hand and using on-site materials. The low cost of these methods allowed them to be used broadly throughout the project area, and over 5,300 structures were built in the 26 tributaries since 2014.

Contour Felling

Felling trees along a horizontal contour is an easy and effective way to keep excess water out of a main drainage. These structures encourage lateral water flow and capture water to contribute to the water table.

Rockdam

Rocks are positioned to counteract erosion by reducing the velocity of water flow. These structures raise the level of the streambed, and create viable habitat for plants.

Log Drop

Similar to rock dams, the log acts as a footer that is anchored into the banks of the incised channel. Rocks and dirt are placed upstream of the log and sometimes grass transplants are installed into the structure. These materials collect sediment behind the log structure and provide grade control. The sediment collected often contains organic material and other nutrients needed for healthy plant growth.

Flow Splitter

These structures divert water flow out of a main incised channel and encourage sheet flow across the surface. These designs are most effective in wide valley bottoms where flow has space to spread and dissipate.

Zuni Bowl

These structures are constructed at the base of a head-cut. Zuni bowls (originally used by Zuni Pueblo) armor the substrate within the channel, preventing scouring action by water over the long term. The bowl shape acts as an energy dissipater as water flows into the structure, protecting the potentially erosive substrate. The bottom of the bowl also acts as a water harvesting feature which will maintain moisture for long periods.

In New Mexico, where wildfire season is immediately followed by monsoons, planning for flooding and erosion mitigation is crucial to the resilience of our communities in the face of wildfire. Waiting for emergency assistance and outside funding may not be the best strategy for protecting our communities from flooding and erosion. The lost cost methods and materials used in Santa Clara Pueblo may be an important part of your communities after-the-fire toolkit.  

For more information about recovery after-the-fire, check out:

1.   Story map of Santa Clara’s response and recovery efforts to the Las Conchas Wildfire

 https://arcg.is/0HGPHf

2. After the Wildfire NM

https://afterwildfirenm.org/

https://afterwildfirenm.org/post-fire-treatments/treatment-descriptions/channel-treatments

3. The Burned Area Learning Network (BALN) https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/FireLandscapes/FireLearningNetwork/RegionalNetworks/Pages/BALN.aspx

Greetings FAC Members!

My first prescribed burn at Fort Union Ranch!

Hello Everyone,  

I am relatively new to this work, and would like to introduce myself. My name is Gabe Kohler and I am a recent addition to the Forest Stewards Guild as a program coordinator. As part of my work with the Guild, I am committed to increasing engagement of current FACNM members as well as outreach to new members. I hope my passion and enthusiasm for this work can be a resource to you all. I recently moved to Santa Fe in October from western Oregon where I finished graduate school at the Oregon State University (OSU) College of Forestry. I am fascinated by the deep connections between humans and their natural environment in the face of climate change and forests shaped by the legacy of past management. It is a privilege to work with you all, and I look forward to meeting each of you.

Thank you all for your continued support and engagement with the Fire Adapted Communities network. Some of you have been with this effort from the beginning and have been critical to advancing our relationship with wildfire for decades.

Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico (FACNM) is gaining diverse membership and support across the state and this reflects the ongoing efforts in each of your communities. In both human and natural systems, networks hold potential for adaptation, resilience, and creative problem solving that is greater than the sum of their parts. The FACNM network is no different, and by fostering relationships amongst motivated individuals we hope to catalyze and empower wildfire adaptation in our communities.

If there is anything that FACNM can do to amplify the work you all are doing in your communities of place or interest, please do not hesitate to reach out. I can be reached on my cell at 509-844-3048 or by email at gabe@forestguild.org.

Keep up the good work,

Gabe

Video about how one community's actions to prepare for wildfire stopped the 416 Fire

In June 2018, when the 416 Fire raged north of Durango, scorching tens of thousands of acres, the Falls Creek Ranch neighborhood, a Firewise USA community, was ready. Residents had prepared for the worst through several years of fire mitigation efforts such as clearing brush and overly dense trees, led by a Neighborhood Ambassador from Wildfire Adapted Partnership based in Southern Colorado and guided by a Community Wildfire Protection Plan. As a direct result of their efforts, firefighters could safely combat the eventual arrival of the fire. No structures were lost!

Watch the video here!

Wildfire Guides for Fire Chiefs and County Officials up on the FAC NM Website.

Two new resources to boost your wildfire preparedness are now up on the FAC NM website.

Fire Chief Wildfire Guide

The WUI Chief’s Guide was designed by fire chiefs for fire chiefs to help provide a better understanding of the wildland-urban interface and the necessary information to help prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from these events. This guide was put together by a committee of fire chiefs led by Santa Fe New Mexico’s own fire chief Erik Litzenberg.

County Leadership Wildfire Guide

The County Leadership Guide to Help Communities Become More Fire Adapted and Learn to Live with Wildland Fire is great resource from our partners at National Association of Counties, Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, Firewise USA, and Western Region National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.

This resource provides tips for county leadership, talking points for county leadership pre, during and post fire season, and customizable social media suggestions.

Forest Bound: Free native plant and conservation training

The Santa Fe and Cibola National Forests, in collaboration with the Institute for Applied Ecology, have a great opportunity for youth to learn about native plants in New Mexico.

Ages 13-18

This fun, immersive program examines native plants through a botanical, environmental, and cultural lens. Students enjoy daily, hands-on experiences in the Santa Fe National Forest or Cibola National Forest. They will gain skills such as seed collection and cleaning, plant monitoring, identification, and ethnobotany. They will learn about conservation careers through conversations with professional conservationists and environmental leaders. At the end of the course, students will receive a certification of completion in basic native plant ecology.

Session dates

Santa Fe:

June 17-21

July 22-26 (session full)

Albuquerque:

June 3-7

July 8-12

For more information visit: www.appliedeco.org/get-outdoors

Fire Adapted New Mexico Calendar - Find & post wildfire related events!

Hello all!

We’re populating the FACNM calendar on the website with all the Fire Adapted Communities related events that are happening around New Mexico. Click the link below to see the what’s your partners around the state are planing for this year.

https://facnm.org/events/

This is a place to find and post local, regional, and statewide events that are related to wildfire response in any way such as, movie showings, community events, CWPP meetings, fire service conferences, home hazard assessment trainings, etc.

But I can use your help! If you are hosting or know about an event that you think FACNM members would be interested in please let me know and I’ll post it to the site.

All I need is a:

• What is the event called?

• When is it?

• Where is it?

• A quick explanation of the event.

• A website or contact information.

Email all of the above to sam@forestguild.org

Thanks!

$500 awards available to support Wildfire Community Preparedness Day! Applications due March 1st

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is an annual campaign that encourages people to come together on a single day to take action to reduce their wildfire risk. On May 4th this year communities and organizations across the county will engage in huge variety of activities from community chipper days to potlucks and discussions about reducing fire risk. For more information, ideas of events, and resources click below:

Wildfire Community Preparedness day page at NFPA .

To support Wildfire Preparedness Day NFPA and State Farm are offering $500 grants to fund wildfire risk reduction activities. Check this link below for information about applying. On the NFPA website there are tips about how to apply and examples of past projects that have succeeded, and see our previous blog post about ideas for events!

MINI GRANT APPLICATION