Firewood Available for Collection and Public Use

A 2021-2022 winter fire and fuels pile squad employed by the Forest Stewards Guild has implemented hand thinning on unfinished 1-acre forested leñero units within the 30-acre 2019 pilot program footprint. This footprint is located just west of road 207 and south of highway 76 (High Road to Taos). Unit T-5, comprising 1 acre, has been cut to date; the pile squad will cut an additional 1+ acre(s) as weather and road conditions allow.

The squad members use chainsaws to cut primarily small-diameter trees in order to meet the U.S. Forest Service land management prescription. After thinning, they remove limbs and treetops and buck the boles into usable lengths for public collection. Crew members also pile the unusable material, or “slash”, into 10’x6’ hand piles. These piles will be left to cure for 1-3 years before being intentionally ignited by a fire hand crew in a controlled winter burn. All management actions are designed and implemented to increase forest health and resilience against drought, extreme heat, pests, and high-severity wildfire.

During thinning treatment, pile squad members buck fell small-diameter trees, such as the ones seen in this thicket, and buck them into manageable lengths.

After-treatment comparison; a majority of small diameter trees have been removed from the stand to meet management objectives, free resources for the remnant stand, and reduce fire risk by removing ladder fuels.

The bucked wood from the squad’s thinning efforts is now available for collection by the public. Please call Rod Dominguez, forest mayordomo for the Rio de Las Trampas Forest Council, at (505) 239-3485 for the exact location and to receive a collection permit. This collection opportunity is close to the communities of Trampas, El Valle, and Chamisal.