News
Three New Landowner Technical Forest Guides Available from FIRE NM
Managing a forest can be tricky – whether a landowner is trying to reduce wildfire risks, restore burned areas, improve wildlife habitat, retain privacy, protect aesthetic values or achieve a…
Ecological Monitoring Efforts Vast, Challenging Across New Mexico
To protect the state’s forest resources, the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (NMFWRI) and the New Mexico Forestry Division (NMFD) launched a collaborative project to better identify, strengthen,…
Working in the Woods
By Alan Barton NMFWRI Director In the Southwest Forest Health and Wildfire Prevention Act of 2004, Congress charged NMFWRI and our SWERI partners with promoting adaptive ecosystem management and…
After the Fire: Contour Log Felling to Stabilize Hillslopes
Trees burned in wildfires can be a source of materials for restoring post-fire landscapes. Click on the button below and scroll down to see this guide and other restoration resources.
Fire history in the Four Corners (updated 2025)
Wildfires in the Four Corners have grown larger in the last couple of decades. Dana Heusinkveld, NMFWRI’s GIS Research Specialist, created this timeline of wildfires in the region encompassing New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.
To see fires that are currently burning in New Mexico along with historic fire info in the NM Fire Viewer, click the button below.
Restoration and Education
NMFWRI provides technical assistance and practical knowledge in forest and woodland restoration to reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire, restore healthy and sustainable forested ecosystems, and encourage restoration-based economies.
GIS/Mapping
NMFWRI represents the state’s only dedicated capability for supporting the spatial data analysis needs of external stakeholders in the natural resources sector, as well as the GIS/GPS capacity for Highlands University and for most of northern New Mexico.
Monitoring
NMFWRI's Ecological Monitoring Program maintains a professionally managed field crew to collect data on short and long-term ecosystem responses to restoration treatments in forest and riparian ecosystems. The data provide a critical scientific basis for adaptive management decisions and improved forest treatment effectiveness.
Collaboration
NMFWRI supports natural-resource-based collaboration by assisting communities to form collaborative organizations and build the capacity to work together to solve problems and restore natural habitats.