SWJM News:

SANTA FE – The Southwest Jemez Mountains (SWJM) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP) will present an implementation and monitoring project update Thursday and Friday, March 12-13 at the Santa Fe Community College, Jemez Rooms in Santa Fe.

Thursday’s presentations are scheduled 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will focus on project achievements and monitoring results. The Friday session is 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will focus on collaborative learning with discussions on future restoration projects and adaptive management. An agenda, campus map and directions can be downloaded from the Santa Fe National Forest website (address below).

In 2009, Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program to fund and encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes. The Southwest Jemez Mountains CFLRP was among the first selected to participate in the program by a national review panel. Launched in 2010, the project is expected to continue through 2019.

Collaboration among agencies, non-governmental organizations, and individual citizens is essential to implementation and monitoring. The monitoring data indicate if the project is meeting its goals and if treatment adjustments are necessary to achieve the best results. Project objectives are to reduce risk of wildfire, enrich wildlife habitat and strengthen watershed condition, while utilizing removed wood fuels to stimulate the regional economy through job creation.

On Thursday, participating members of the SWJM CFLRP will present 2010-2014 results of restoration projects and monitoring. Sessions will illustrate how critical ecosystems are monitored, and also will include discussions about the project’s anthropological, social and economic factors. In addition to oral presentations by scientists and restoration experts, poster presentations will provide monitoring details on vegetation, water resources, fish and wildlife, invasive species, pest and beneficial insects, cultural resources, outdoor classroom educational programs, and socio-economic impacts.

On Friday, the group will discuss future restoration projects for 2016, evaluating priorities and strategies based on prior years’ monitoring results.

The public is invited to attend and learn about opportunities to participate in the project. For more information about the SWJM CFLRP, contact Anne Janik, Partnership Coordinator, at ajanik@fs.fed.us or 505.438.5431. Information about the project and the All-Hands Meeting is posted on the Santa Fe National Forest’s Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Landscape Restoration website (www.fs.usda.gov/goto/SWJM).

Logistical information:

• Free parking at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC)
• Lunch and snacks may be purchased at the SFCC cafeteria located next to the Jemez Rooms
• SFCC facilities are ADA-accessible.