Southwest Jemez Mountains Forest Restoration Project Hosts Annual Public Meeting April 12-13

The Southwest Jemez Mountains (SWJM) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project covers 210,000 acres in the Jemez Mountains, 110,000 of which are within Santa Fe National Forest boundaries. Courtesy/SWJM

SWJM News:

SANTA FE – Members of the public are invited to the 2017 “all hands” meeting for a comprehensive update on the largest landscape-scale forest restoration project in New Mexico April 12-13, 2017, at the Santa Fe Community College (SFCC).

The Southwest Jemez Mountains (SWJM) Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project is a long-term collaborative effort to restore forest ecosystems at the landscape scale and improve resilience to major disturbances, including fire, insects and disease, and climate change. The project covers 210,000 acres in the Jemez Mountains, 110,000 of which are within Santa Fe National Forest boundaries.

Wednesday, April 12, project managers will update on implementation, including forest thinning, prescribed fire, and riparian and wetland restoration. Scientists and natural resource specialists will address hydrology, vegetation and soils, and wildlife.  Other topics on the Wednesday agenda include monitoring, fire risk modeling, cultural and archaeological resources, and socioeconomic impacts of the project.

Sessions scheduled for Thursday, April 13, focus on fire risk, cross-boundary land management and restoration projects scheduled for 2018. 

Both days will begin at 8:30 a.m.  Wednesday’s session will end at 5 p.m., and adjournment Thursday will be at noon. Sessions will be held in the Jemez Rooms at SFCC. Parking is free, and the college cafeteria will be open for lunch. The campus is ADA-accessible.

Lead partners in the SWJM project include the Santa Fe National Forest, Valles Caldera National Preserve, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Stewards Guild, New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute, New Mexico Forest Industry Association, Pueblo of Jemez, WildEarth Guardians and The Nature Conservancy.  

The agenda for the public meeting and directions to SFCC are posted on the Santa Fe National Forest website. For additional information, contact:

  • Bob Parmenter, Chief of Science & Resource Stewardship, Valles Caldera National Preserve, at 575.829.4850 or robert_parmenter@nps.gov  
  • Karl Buermeyer, SWJM Implementation Coordinator, Santa Fe National Forest, at 575.829.3535 or kbuermeyer@fs.fed.us
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