Wildfire Network, in partnership with Santa Fe Youthworks, Chris Tree Service, The New Mexico Recycling Coalition, Institute for Applied Ecology, Forest Stewards Guild and the USDA Forest Service Pecos-Las Vegas Ranger District proposes to restore this area to historic grassland and savanna conditions and to prepare for the reintroduction of native bees, while providing job training and employment for at-risk youth and developing erosion control training modules for land use managers.

The three year project will center on removal of small diameter trees 16” drc or less, rehabilitate approximately 5 miles of forest road to improve watershed conditions, aid in fuelwood gathering and improve access and safety during prescribed fire. This area, managed by USDA Forest Service, Pecos-Las Vegas Ranger District and located alongside Hwy 34 near Rowe, NM currently has encroachment of piñon and juniper trees.

At an elevation of roughly 7100 ft, restoring the grassland, and reintroducing fire are the main goals, however, the area affords an opportunity to develop a comprehensive training module with in-the-field case studies and control plots on erosion control. These will highlight best practices for capturing surface water and reduce unwanted erosion by utilizing masticated wood and small scale geomorphology.

Furthermore, the project will integrate job training and employment opportunities for approximately 12 youth involved in Santa Fe Youthworks’ Verde Collaborative which with Wildfire Network, has been performing wildfire mitigation and erosion control projects on private and public lands. Slash from these projects are either used onsite for erosion control purposes or chipped and sent to another Verde partner and NM Recycling Coalition member, Reunity Resources to create compost and grow produce for Youthworks culinary program.

This project will also integrate Forest Bound, a new summer education program for high school students developed by the Institute for Applied Ecology, to examine native plants through a botanical, environmental, social and cultural lens. It also presents an opportunity to monitor the return of native bees to this area and help determine best practices for creating bee habitat, important pollinators. This proposal seeks to build off of the sound ecological practices of the many other treatments completed on Rowe Mesa.

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