Eating the Elephant in Our
Watersheds
Brent Racher, PhD
racher@resource-management.us
New Mexico Forest Industry
Association
Behind every healthy forest
is a healthy forest industry
A trade association that serves
as a voice for New Mexico’s
industry including thinning
contractors, loggers, mills,
consultants, and wood
products manufacturers.
We Have Enough Info to Act
NEW MEXICO FORESTS
Net Annual Growth compared to Removals
Source: “The Full Cost of New Mexico Wildfires” by Impact Datasource for NM
Economic Development Dept. 2013
Source: “The Full Cost of New Mexico Wildfires” by Impact Datasource for NM
Economic Development Dept. 2013
Cost of One Fire
$48 million fire suppression cost
$246 million 2011 Las Conchas cost
Kara Walter & Dr. Janie Chermak
Post-fire flooding and debris flow
Property Destruction
Sedimentation
Water Quality
Forest Treatments Can Increase
Snowpack and Water Yield
 Thinning can reduce snow
sublimation by up to 50%
(Veatch et al. 2009)
 Winter sublimation in burned
areas reduces snowpack by 50%
(Harpold et al. 2013)
The Elephant…
Total Acres
Treating 40% 20-yr Goal =
(Finney et al.) 2% per year
Cost
Frequent Fire 6.9 Million
Forested
Watersheds
2.7 Million
135,000
$95 Million
All
Watersheds –
Top to
Bottom
10 Million
500,000
25 Million
We are already getting some
done…
• 2014
– Estimate 33,000 acres
restored in frequentfire forests
– $30+ Million spent
– Much more in the
entire watershed
• 2015
– MORE is getting
done (just not sure
how much, yet)
Proactive Management
For every 1,000 acres of forests that
are restored, we can generate:
• 4-10 jobs in
mechanical or
hand thinning
• 8 jobs in product
manufacturing and
sales
• 7 jobs in planning
and transportation
How do we eat more…
• Prioritize…to describe
the path forward
• Increase resources
allocated
• Coordination
• All Hands on Deck
Ranking Criteria
1. Wildfire Risk
2. Water Quality/Supply
3. Economic Opportunity
4. Forest Health
5. Fish & Wildlife
Investment in Prevention
Santa Fe: $8.5 million
Denver: $16.5 million
Flagstaff: $10 million
Many Diverse Stakeholders
Municipal water users
Ruidoso, Artesia,
Carlsbad, Tularosa,
Roswell,Hollaman
AFB, Alamogordo
City Councils, County
Commissioners, NM
Association of Counties
Business:
GACOC,
ACI,
NMWBTF,
NAIOP
NMEDD
Federal
agencies
USFS,
USACE
USGS, FWS
BOR, BLM
NRCS
NMFIA
NM Acequia Association
UNM, EPSCoR
FWRI/NMHU,
ENMU, NMSU,
CNM
Sportsmen & Conservation Groups
Recreation Users
State water
agencies: ISC,
OSE,NMED
NM Dept. of
Insurance
State forest/watershed
agencies: NMDGF, SLO
EMNRD/Forestry, NMDA
NM:
WNR
LFC
PRC
Soil & Water Conservation Districts
NMWDOC
Sandia & LANL
Agricultural users
Private Lands, CPLA
Corporations with
Sustainability Programs
Lowe’s, PNM, Wells
Fargo, Bank of ABQ
Land Grant
Council
Pueblos
& Tribes
70% of wood by-product of
forest treatments is low quality
Conservative volume estimate across forest types: 20 bone dry tons/acre
Job estimate: Approx. 600 new forest, trucking and wood processing positions
Possible Uses of Low-Quality Wood from
Forest Treatments
Thermal Heating/Cooling
Electricity
Biofuels
Mulch and Compost
Shavings, posts and poles
Lumber and SW Construction
Community Forests and
Traditional Uses
“The Bottom Line”
• $21 million investment
to restore 30,000
acres of forest
annually
• $46-$373 million
saved each year in fire
fighting, property/direct
losses, & rehabilitation
• 660 jobs created –
predominately in rural
NM
Keep eating… Long-term
• Monitoring
– Scientific needs
• Planning
• Action
– Consistent implementation funding
– Adaptive
Which is our future?
Who’s responsibility is it?