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Only a quarter of seedlings planted after wildfires grow into trees. That’s a challenge forest managers are facing across the Southwest while drought and rising temperatures are causing wildfires to burn hotter and larger. But, one research team at the University of New Mexico may have found a way to ease the hard, manual labor of reseeding by better predicting seedling survival rates.
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Fire crews have now fully contained New Mexico's largest recorded wildfire. In the past few months, the fire left not only the ash of trees and homes in its wake––but also a broken community.
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The focus of the seeding is the Gallinas river watershed, which provides the great majority of the water for Las Vegas and has been badly affected by the fire. Burned trees and ash have poured into the river during monsoon rains.
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For thousands affected by the Calf Canyon Hermit's Peak fire, life has changed forever. They face a long, uncertain wait for compensation and many are considering suing the US Forest Service
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The proposed Hermit's Peak Fire Assistance Act would allow anyone affected by the fire to claim full compensation, because the state's largest-ever wildfire began as two planned burns by the US Forest Service.
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The arrival of summer monsoon rains has slowed New Mexico’s historic wildfires to a snail’s pace. Now, forest managers are looking to restore the over 900,000 acres of land scorched in the past seven months by using seeds. Though the future of reseeding the Southwest’s wildfire-ravaged landscape might soon look different––specifically of skies filled with drones the size of washing machines.
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After days of higher activity on the two largest wildfires in New Mexico history due to hot, dry weather, relief appears to be on the way as the monsoon season starts up. But rains on a burn scar can bring new trouble: flash floods.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced Wednesday it will foot 100% of the costs for debris removal and watershed repair through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program for areas scorched by New Mexico’s historic wildfires.
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As New Mexico’s largest wildfire continues to burn, residents are trying to focus on rebuilding. The federal government has pledged help for those who lost property or jobs due to the fire. But residents living on land grants distributed by Spanish rulers centuries ago may not qualify for that aid.
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President Joe Biden is due to visit Santa Fe for a briefing on the state's unprecedented fire season. Homes and livelihoods have been destroyed, and there is deep resentment of the U.S. Forest Service's role in starting the fire. Those affected by the fire are also worried the federal response isn't robust or fast enough