NMFWRI

NM Vegetation Treatment Map Updated - New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute By Katie Withnall         NMFWRI’s New Mexico Vegetation Treatment geodatabase was updated to the ESRI Web Experience Builder web app format in January 2026.  This upgrade keeps the app up-to-date wit...

The updated New Mexico Vegetation Treatment geodatabase has detailed information on over 54,000 projects across New Mexico. Over this past year the site had 243,000 Geodatabase service hits and 2,200+ Website visits.

UWC Students Pilot Citizen Science Survey - New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute On January 16, a cohort of 28 students and teachers from United World College spent their “Expeditionary Friday” at NMHU. In a coordinated effort with the Dept. of Forestry, theConservation Science Ce...

Engaging with the next generation of natural resource managers can lead to some cool outcomes!

Students outside near Ponderosa pine trees with chainsaws learning to start and use them.

Person with a chainsaw blocks fallen trees during a FIRE NM workshop hosted by the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Insitute.

Students at the FIRE NM Community Chainsaw Class learn to use a plumb bob (a nut on the end of a string held in the air) to determine which way a tree is leaning before they cut it with a chainsaw.

Students at a FIRE NM chainsaw class listen to instructor Jamie Knutson describe different types of chains.

Five dedicated students took our first two-day FIRE NM Community Chainsaw class taught by Las Dispensas sawyer Jamie Knutson in January. FIRE NM is the new Fire Informed Restoration Education-New Mexico initiative launched by our institute with more workshops and resources available soon.

NMFWRI Seeks Spatial Analyst Postdoctoral Scholar - New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at NM Highlands University is seeking a Spatial Analyst Postdoctoral Scholar with expertise in fire modeling and remote sensing to support the...

We're looking for a post-doc to join our exceptional GIS team! Apply through the Highlands University job portal.

A Mixed Opinion of Russian Olive Trees - New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute Of the projects the monitoring crew completed for the 2025 GRGWA season, a favorite were the 12 projects in Rancho De Taos thanks to the beautiful landscapes and furry friends that joined them on plot...

🤔Are non-native trees automatically bad? Or might they hold value in a changing climate? One of our ecological monitoring team members explores the debate when it comes to Russian olives. nmfwri.org/news/a-mixed...

Confluence - Center for Collaborative Conservation Confluence 2026 will be held in Fort Collins, CO at the Colorado State University campus on May 19-21, 2026 The theme of the year… The Future of Collaboration: The Power of Working Across Divides     ...

Registration is open for Confluence 2026! We’re excited to share this opportunity from our partners at the Western Collaborative Conservation Network, taking place May 19–21 in Fort Collins, CO. Learn more: loom.ly/tYRvoFA

Sign up soon for this great FREE training opportunity to learn methods for effective collaboration. Sign up here - docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Contractor Workforce Fair & Workshop, Dec. 2, 5:30-8 PM at El Rito Campus Northern NM College. Businesses and contractors in the forest restoration economy are invited to attend, network, and learn about licensing/insurance/funding. To register, contact Luz: Luz@forestguild.org; 505-983-8992

Job Opportunities | NM SPO Work for the State of New Mexico and contribute to the betterment of our community! Our work directly impacts the people of New Mexico in every way, whether it’s helping a child in need, protecting natural resources, or maintaining roads and infrastructure.

New Mexico Forestry Division is seeking a Community Wildfire Defense Program Manager to direct and engage in forest and watershed management and community wildfire risk reduction. Apply by Dec. 5 with job ID #159915 through the State job portal www.spo.state.nm.us/work-for-new...

More guidance for Mora County private well owners from NM DHSEM regarding reopening fire claim to cover potential fire-related heavy metal contamination in wells.

Anticipating more fires and floods, state disaster response agency seeks more staff • Source New Mexico With increasing disasters, and an expected decrease in federal funding, the state's emergency response agency is on the cusp of an exodus of "institutional knowledge."

sourcenm.com/briefs/antic...

Information and Resources NMFD Landscape Stewardship Plan Business Resources Before The Fire Agricultural/Forestry Property Owner Post-fire Recovery During the Fire Long Term Recovery Pre-Fire Preparation View the FEMA May Rei...

Information about Mora County water resources, contacts, and the NM Dept of Health advisory regarding recent heavy metal contamination in some wells is all available on the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Post-fire Resources Hub. hermits-peak-calf-canyon-fire-resources-nmhu.hub.arcgis.com/pages/extern...

Congrats to everyone involved in this important work!

Burning at Black Lake 2025 - Forest Stewards Guild Written by Maya Hilty  In late October, months of work by many other people landed me in a mountain meadow near Black Lake, New Mexico, stuffing my pack and pants…

🤝 Partnerships and careful planning make for successful prescribed burns, a critical tool for restoring healthy fire-adapted forests. In this great story, a new prescribed burn participant reflects on the experience at an Oct burn on State Land near Black Lake, NM.

🔥 Firewise and Fire Adapted Communities advance wildfire risk reduction. Find out how in the latest edition of The Spark by @forestguild @NMForestry @USDOI @fireadaptednet and NMFWRI .
#WildfirePreparedness

Collaboration Hub NMFWRI Create your own initiative by combining existing applications with a custom site. Use this initiative to form teams around a problem and invite your community to participate.

👁️ If you haven't checked out the NM Collaborative Conservation Hub developed by our Collaboration Program, take a look!
💻 It is loaded with information! collaboration-hub-nmfwri-nmhu.hub.arcgis.com

A fact sheet from NM Dept of Health on the Mora County wells and heavy metal contamination. These wells are within the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon burn scar from 2022; the source of any metal contamination has yet to be determined.

We still have a few spots left in our free Community Chainsaw Refresher Class! Bought a new chainsaw but never used one before? Pretty skilled with a chainsaw but looking for some maintenance tips? This class is for you! Sign up via email at nmfwri@nmhu.edu or call 505-426-2080.

We're hiring for an exciting new position at our institute - a Digital Content and Outreach Specialist! Please note a change in the link here. Apply directly through the Highlands University job portal:

We've got an excellent Bark Beetle Management – QIA workshop coming up Nov. 15 with our partners at NM Forestry Division. We look forward to seeing you there!

Save the Date! Nov. 15 is the next QIA workshop.

Exploring the determinants of the 2023 Quebec mega-wildfire burn severity Background The Quebec wildfires in 2023 attracted international attention, affecting 4.5 M ha of boreal forest. Aims We investigated if causal factors could be identified that explained spatial vari...

"We investigated if causal factors could explain wildfire burn severity of the Quebec 2023 wildfires...Forest mgmt is implicated through the accumulated impacts of harvesting, which have skewered age class distributions toward younger [more flammable] forests." 🌍 www.publish.csiro.au/WF/justaccep...

Researchers at the Ecological Restoration Institute are exploring how biochar can boost land management, from restoring soils to capturing carbon. tinyurl.com/5y2555hk

It's the season for prescribed fire - an important step to reducing fuel loads in our forests.

This article from Ecology & Society focuses on RX burns in Greece and how proactive prevention can get lost as a method to reduce catastrophic wildfires.

ecologyandsociety.org/vol30/iss3/a...

We're hiring! We're looking for a Digital Content and Outreach professional who is interested in forest and watershed health, enjoys creating with social media and digital tools, and likes interacting with the public. Apply via the NMHU portal.

Do you enjoy communication and are familiar with ArcGIS? Do you like interacting with the public? Have an interest in wildfire mitigation? Our institute is hiring a Digital Content and Outreach Specialist! Find out more and apply through the NMHU portal: nmhu.peopleadmin.com/postings/9954

Post-Fire Community Events This page will provide access to announcements for upcoming meetings, events and workshops, in addition to recordings of these events when available.

Check out the latest events and more in the Hermit's Peak-Calf Canyon Post-Fire Resources Hub. hermits-peak-calf-canyon-fire-resources-nmhu.hub.arcgis.com/pages/5db832...

Come work with us!
Hiring:
Conservation Specialist - full-time, exempt, term position with the Conservation Science Center
nmhu.peopleadmin.com/postings/9801
Ecological Monitoring Technician - full-time, non-exempt, term position
nmhu.peopleadmin.com/postings/9884

Fire Cafe happening tomorrow! A free webinar to discuss the ReSHAPE TWIG wildfire and fuels reduction geodatabase and how it can help fire and land managers.