The USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region will be accepting applications for the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) in 2020 to carry out forest restoration projects on public lands in New Mexico pending federal appropriations.

By working together, small business owners, conservation and environmental organizations, community groups, tribes, colleges, universities and other organizations can qualify for CFRP grants for forest restoration projects that reduce the threat of wildfire, improve watershed conditions, and provide jobs and training to local communities.

Fire officials on the Sacramento Ranger District inCloudcroft, NM, plan to prescribed burn in the Walker and Burnt Canyon areas near Mayhill, NM. The project will begin in November and carry into February.

Exact ignition dates are dependent on weather and fuel moisture conditions. Fire managers will monitor conditions closely to ensure they fall within acceptable ranges. Optimal conditions will result in good ventilation and smoke dispersal, as well as help achieve the desired effects on the ground during and after the burn.

The Lincoln National Forest will begin selling Christmas Tree permits on Thursday, November 14 for $10.00 each. A limited number of permits will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. You may purchase one permit per household, and up to four permits for four separate households. The last day to purchase a permit is December 24.

The Court-ordered injunction suspending all timber management activities on the five national forests in New Mexico and the Tonto National Forest in Arizona has been modified to allow the personal cutting and collection of fuelwood.  The Forest Service will resume permit sales immediately.

Under a recent court-ordered injunction, the five national forests in New Mexico and the Tonto National Forest in Arizona have suspended all permit sales for collecting fuelwood.

In addition to fuelwood permits, the six national forests have also suspended all timber management activities, including stewardship contracts, timber sales, thinning and prescribed burns, in order to comply with the ruling.