Staff from NMFWRI’s Ecological Monitoring and Collaboration Programs worked with the New Mexico State Land Office, Forest Stewards Guild, The Nature Conservancy, local fire departments, NMHU prescribed fire students, and others to conduct a broadcast prescribed fire in Black Lake, NM on state trust land in October.
The 370-acre burn, one of several prescribed fires happening around the state this fall, occurred in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest. The Black Lake area has a long history of forest restoration work including thinning and collaborative burning with the State Land Office, the Guild and other groups. Several plots on the site are part of the NMFWRI Ecological Monitoring Program’s long-term monitoring network. The effort also provided valuable hands-on training for NMFWRI staff, strengthening their ability to support future cooperative burning practices across New Mexico’s fire-adapted and collaboratively managed landscapes.
According to a statement, “the New Mexico State Land Office was honored to host a successful prescribed fire and work side by side with a diverse team from various agencies and organizations. These partnerships are vital in implementing prescribed fire and reestablishing the historic fire regime of frequent, low-intensity fire in ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forest on state trust land.”
