Santa Fe Forest Coalition

Dear Forest Lover,

Make your views known on a massive forest clearing and burning project above Santa Fe.

Come to a public meeting. The first public meeting is this MONDAY 6/24 from 4:30 – 7:00 pm at the Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor's Office, 11 Forest Lane. The second is SATURDAY 6/29, from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm at Hondo Fire Station 2, 645 Old Las Vegas Highway. Show up early.

The Santa Fe National Forest plans to clear and burn at least 67 square miles of roadless and lightly roaded forests above Santa Fe that have been spared commercial logging for more than a century. It is the largest project ever proposed in these mountains and will continue for several decades. Areas eligible for Wilderness protection are at risk.

Most trees up to 24 inches in diameter will be removed from up to 21,000 acres and up to 43,000 acres will be burned. In addition, 94 miles of unused roads will be improved to allow access by tree clearing equipment. Clearing and burning is already occurring in Black Canyon, Pacheco Canyon and Santa Fe's watershed.

July 10 is the deadline for comments to the Santa Fe Mountains Landscape Resiliency Project. They can be mailed, emailed, faxed, hand-delivered, spoken, or submitted here online. You can see the proposed action here.

A sample letter and opinion piece are attached.

Love where you live. Defend what you love.

Sam Hitt

• Forest Service Project Scoping Document

• Sample Comment Letter

• Sam's "My View" in the New Mexican, 6/23/2019

• Flyer about the project

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Here are some usable quotes from the book Fire Ecology in the Rocky Mountain Landscapes, 2009, William Baker. Professor Baker is Professor in Ecology and Geography at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming.

• Fuel reduction is not ecologically needed in most Rocky Mountain ecosystems, and it is rather futile, given the magnitude of the projected increase in fire and the inability of fuel reduction to prevent large fires under extreme weather. (p. 459)
• Fuel reduction outside of community fire-planning zones is as waste of funding that would be better directed at interfaces. (p. 459)   note: by "interfaces" he means WUI's (Wildland Urban Interfaces).
• Fuel reduction outside the community fire-planning zones is not needed. (p. 460)
• Since fire may not have declined relative to the HRV (Historical Range of Variability) and may increase several times in coming decades, there is no need to conduct prescribed burns to offset a perceived fire deficit or to regenerate shrubs or trees. (p. 459)