As urban sprawl in some areas of New Mexico creates more wildland/urban interface, the increased risk of catastrophic wildfire on forested lands grows too. In order to help reduce the risk of wildfires, the NRCS South Central Mountain Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council, in collaboration with the Ruidoso Wildland Urban Interface group, developed a proposal to reduce the fuel load on approximately 280 acres of heavily forested land immediately adjacent to Ruidoso, New Mexico, known locally as Moon Mountain and managed by the State Land Office. The final phase of the project was completed recently and was typical of New Mexico RC&D projects where last year, for every dollar spent by NRCS, $48 dollars were leveraged from other funding sources. “Approximately

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$360,000 of Federal funds and $110,000 of State Land Office land maintenance funding were obtained to treat this acreage,” said Dick Shaw, NRCS RC&D coordinator. “But more importantly, approximately 19 acres immediately adjacent to Ruidoso High School were treated. Additionally, local contractors have benefited from employment opportunities created as a result of small wood utilization enterprises.” The treated acreage is a classic example of a wildland component of a wildland/urban interface and has created not only defensible space, but improved wildlife habitat for deer, elk, turkey, and bear.
Your contact is Barbara Garrett, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 505-761-4406, or barbara.garett@nm.usda.gov.