Our New Mexico Association of Counties (NMAC) Wildfire Risk Reduction grant has given us the ability to hire 3 youth and have 2 other youth on standby for larger projects, a benefit we didn't expect but are very grateful for.  These youth are learning to interact with homeowners, do wildfire home assessments, recognize trees that are unhealthy and/or infected with pests, some ecological monitoring and chainsaw and chipper safety, maintenance and operation. 

While not a part of our NMAC grant, 2 of our youth have received basic wildland firefighting classes (NWCG) and have passed the pack test to become certified, with the help of our partnership with a fitness instructor who tailored training specifically for that.  We've also accomplished over 25 acres of private lands thinning, chipper or hauled almost 100 tons of slash, and produced almost 20 cord of fuelwood (currently seasoning).  We've spoken with 25 landowners regarding wildfire risk reduction, while offering them the grant to help reduce the cost. 

We have some more to accomplish for our grant completion, but so far we have exceeded our own expectations of what would be possible and will continue to find ways to expand our reach.