The wildfire crisis in the United States is urgent, severe and far-reaching. So says a Congressional committee report that came out last month, which also noted federal agencies estimate the total cost of wildfire nationwide is on the order of tens to hundreds of billions every year. And strategies to mitigate the risk in New Mexico rely on getting communities on board.
Last year, the Enchanted Circle in northern New Mexico was identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as one of 10 landscapes in the country where communities are severely at risk from wildfire.
Since then, the U.S. Forest Service has collaborated with local government, tribes and other partners to try to mitigate the risk. But a key tool in their national wildfire crisis strategy is prescribed fire, and after prescribed fire led to the catastrophic Calf Canyon/Hermit's Peak fire last year, many New Mexicans are skeptical.
“They don't like to see trees cut down, they sure as hell don't want to see fire happen,” said JR Logan, manager of the Taos County Forest and Watershed Health program, speaking at a meeting October 26 organized by the Nature Conservancy intended to rebuild trust around controlled burns.
“And it looks after these projects, like we've destroyed something like we've taken a forest that was pristine and beautiful, and untouched. And we ruined it.”
Other speakers included the forestry and fuels coordinator for Taos Pueblo, Rene Romero.
“Fire is the greatest gift that has ever been given to Indigenous people,” he said. “Now, when I use the word Indigenous, I'd say it's not just talking about the Native Americans. It's talking about all peoples we would call Indigenous who lived on the land. We watched nature. We knew when to do things, when to plant, when to burn, when to celebrate. But we've lost that connection.”
State forestry officials spoke not just about prescribed fire but about expanded reseeding efforts. Forest and Watershed Manager Matt Piccarello from the Nature Conservancy said that forests have changed due to logging, fire exclusion and climate change. But he said there is no future without fire.
Audience members asked questions about alternative strategies, about how fire changes soil and about whether forest managers could employ local people in a consistent way in their management strategies.
