HEALTHY FOREST REDUCES FIRE DANGER, PROTECT WATERSHED

(Reprinted from Sangre de Cristo Chonicle, Sept. 15, 200 – Janet Sailor)

ANGEL FIRE – On the one lot, wood chips drift downward like amber snowflakes, after being blown sky-high by a timber-eating behemoth.

On another lot, trees as tall as 125 feet are each cut, trimmed of their branches, cut into 100-inch lengths and neatly stacked for transport in under two minutes by another giant mechanical marvel.

In less than a week, nearly 10 acres of Taos Pines Ranch Subdivision land once covered by dense forest and undergrowth was restored to optimal environmental health, reducing both fire danger and topsoil erosion.

During August and September, approximately 60 acres of Taos Pines Ranch Subdivision will be restored—all thanks to an ongoing forest restoration project lead by Frank Atmore and the Cimarron Watershed Alliance, Inc. (CWA).

CWA is partnering with Taos Pines Ranch Property Owners Association, Forestry Services, Group, Inc, the Village of Eagle Nest and Western Wood Products in a forest restoration demonstration pilot project dedicated to maintaining a healthy forest in Taos Pines Ranch Subdivision. The project is being funded from a $1 million grant from the New Mexico Environmental Department, $350,000 of which is in matching funds.

Taos Pines encompasses 1,000 heavily-forested acres to the north and east of Palo Flechado Pass. This area is a major watershed, providing water for Eagle Nest Lake, the Moreno Valley and beyond. The project will mitigate forest fire propagation in the area by reducing the current number of trees in the area to approximately 60 per acre, which is considered optimal for a healthy forest. In 2003, the subdivision was endangered by the Encebado fire which started on the Taos Pueblo and claimed more than 5,400 acres as it climbed east over the mountain, with thick forestation and undergrowth providing an abundance of fuel.

The current restoration project includes cutting and mulching trees and undergrowth, creating a thin layer of mulch and transporting usable timber to Western Wood Products in Raton. Frank Atmore, president of the Cimarron Watershed Alliance, estimates that at least two-thirds of the trees in the Taos Pines area will be removed. According to Atmore, living trees with trunks less than eleven inches in diameter are targeted for removal, as are all dead and diseased trees, with a goal of leaving as many aspen trees as possible.

“This is a serious need,” Atmore stated. “Taos Pines is at the head of our watershed. If we can mitigate forest fire propagation in the Taos Pines area, we can preserve the quality of water all the way to Raton and Springer. Mitigating fire propagation in the Taos Pines Ranch Subdivision are will allow the forbs and grasses to regenerate, stabilizing soils and decreasing erosion and forest topsoil runoff into the headwater of the Cienegullla and Nine Mile Creeks and Eagle Nest Lake”.

Taos Pines POA President Linda Ford is delighted with the project, noting that the 2003 Encebado fire came “too close for comfort.” Ford played a major part in initiating the project, inviting CWA, local government and fire department officials to speak at Taos Pines POA meetings. Ford also attended and advocated the need for the project in relating meetings, and provided data for the grant proposal.

“Maintaining a cleared and healthy forest is vital,” said Ford. “I invite groups from other areas to take a look at the outstanding job CWA is doing here, and encourage them to talk with Mr. Atmore about mitigating fire danger and improving the watershed in their own forest properties.”

Ford noted that firefighting efforts are more likely to be successful in areas which have been prudently maintained, and offered to make “before” and “after” photos of her property available to interested parties.

The forest restoration at Taos Pines is being accomplished by Forestry Services Group, Inc. (FSC), headquartered in Denver. The Village of Eagle Nest (through a lease with CWA) is providing a holding area for cut and trimmed trees, which are then purchased and transported by Western Wood Products in Raton for resale as fence posts and poles. Living trees less than 11 inches in diameter, diseased and dead trees, brush and ladder fuels are removed, thereby reducing the potential for forest fires.

Restoring overstocked forested areas includes proper crown spacing between the residual trees as recommended for degree of slope, as well as mulching all brush and slash to enhance the goal of forest fire prevention. Mulch is left in piles no deeper than three inches, input from property owners involved in the project is encouraged and considered by both Cimarron Watershed Alliance and Forestry Services Group.

“The forest restoration in Taos Pines is a pioneer project,” Atmore noted. “Similar work has been done on Express Ranch near Ute Park, but it was not on this scale. We had a grant to clear, cut, mulch and reclaim 60 acres and have established a maintenance program there. Restoration and reclamation in Taos Pines encompasses a much larger area. Establishing a maintenance program there is very important.”

Phase one of the current project began in mid August and includes six Taos Pines properties. Phase two will include six more Taos Pines properties. Because Taos Pines Ranch Subdivision is private land, property owners must agree to have their land included in the project and sign a trespass authorization.

Cost for phase one of the project is $650 per acre, or $39,000 for forest restoration in the initial 60 acres, of which $15,6000 is CWA matching funds.