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Saturday, October 20, 2007 Bosque wildfire plan in works to identify areas of concernMost people live near the bosque for its quietness and natural beauty. Perhaps wildfire dangers were not high on their list of concerns when they moved there, but those dangers are part of the package. In an effort to help protect people's property as well as the natural habitat, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and SWCA Environmental Consultants have begun a community-based planning process to address wildfire concerns and prevention strategies. A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) will cover the reach of the Rio Grande from Cochiti Dam south to San Acacia Diversion Dam. As part of the planning process, a number of public meetings were held in four counties — Valencia, Sandoval, Bernalillo and Socorro — this week. During the meeting in Los Lunas Wednesday night, Yasmeen Najmi, a planner with the MRGCD, and Vicky Williams, the lead planner with SWCA, outlined the plan. The purpose of the plan is to identify key areas at risk of wildfire. The plan will focus on reducing non-native trees and deadwood and rehabilitating areas of the bosque that have already burned. The plan will also make recommendations to help local emergency managers and homeowners reduce the threat to structures and property next to the bosque as well as improving emergency response to fires. "Having a plan also keeps us in the running for federal funds," Najmi said. "If we don't have a plan, we'll be way down on the priority list below other regions, below other states. "A second good reason for having a plan is to assist our local governments. Our emergency responders and emergency managers are our frontline responders in bosque fires, and we want to make sure they have the resources to safely and effectively respond to bosque fires." Najmi said homeowners and property owners would be able to use the plan as an educational tool in how to keep their homes safe in the event of a bosque fire. She said more and more people are moving next to the bosque, which raises the concern for safety. The plan will also look at the bosque's natural habitat, including the hundreds of species of birds that use the area for breeding and migration. "The operative word in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan is community," she said. "You folks are the ones who live next to the bosque, you live in these communities ... you know these areas and you know the things that are at risk." Williams said the need for such a plan was born out of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which was established in 2003. The act mandated federal fire agencies to establish a greater relationship with local communities and fire agencies. "This a collaborative process, and we're really looking at the community guiding this plan," Williams said. "What this plan does not require are any actions on private property. Recommendations can be made for private property, but it doesn't require private property owners to do anything or treatments on their land." There are seven steps to the CWPP process including:
During the discussion portion of the meeting, Tomé-Adelino Fire Chief Jack Dickey raised the issue of fires on Valencia County's east mesa. He said while he realizes the plan's focus is on areas in and around the bosque, it should also include the threat of wildfires in the vast mesa area where large grass fires have continued to be a problem. "We're seeing more and more fires occur in that area," Dickey said. "I imagine that 10, 15 years from now that it'll be filled with houses, but in the interim, we're getting patchwork development, and we've seen running grass fires up there that could easily threaten the urban fuels. That's my concern — we're not addressing the east mesa." Dickey said a bosque fire could potentially threaten the east mesa area, depending on which way the wind blows. Williams said the plan could mention Valencia County's east mesa, especially if a bosque fire could possibly threaten the area. She said the boundaries of the plan aren't set in stone, and the core team will look at how far they could be set. Los Lunas Fire Chief Lito Chavez said he was very concerned with the bosque growing inside the river, in particular the trees right next to the river bridge. He said his concern is not only for fires, but also for flooding issues. Najmi said the problem is raising concerns all through the corridor, but mostly south of the Isleta dam. She said it's in part because of the drought for a significant number of years that didn't allow for the flushing flows that would remove some of the sediment and sandbars. "They do pose a risk, not only with fires, but with the infrastructure of the bridges and the levees," she said. "Some have been removed, but it's still a big issue." Chavez also asked if the plan would allow for funding for patrolling the bosque. He said Los Lunas has developed part of the bosque for recreational use and the village does have an officer who will be looking after that, but there have been problems between Los Lunas and Belen regarding trespassers. Dave Burr of the State Forestry said the plan wouldn't allow for that type of funding, but there is other funding through New Mexico Department of Homeland Security in years of severity for overtime for agencies to patrol.
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