Taos County expands Good Neighbor wildfire projects, stressing local jobs and watershed protection

Taos County commissioners heard on Dec. 2 that county-led partnerships and contractors are expanding wildfire risk‑reduction and forest‑restoration work under a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Carson National Forest.

"The county through both state and federal money has brought in about $5,300,000 since 2022," said JR Logan, Taos County forest and watershed health project manager, describing a mix of grants and county‑led projects. Logan said about $3.3 million has been spent or committed and roughly $2 million remains to be spent over the next few years.

The presentation described several specific efforts. A Valle Escondido non‑federal lands grant of about $390,000 funded defensible‑space and landscape‑scale thinning on private properties that abut Forest Service lands. A state award of roughly $1,000,000 targeted a "green corridor" of projects in the Rio Hondo and Rio Lucero watersheds; Logan said these funds underwrote mastication, mastication contractors and smaller homeowner grants routed through the Soil and Water Conservation District.

Local contractors and community crews have provided much of the labor. "We have 12 employees that work seasonally," said Jamie of WoodSharks, a contractor that carried out work in Valle Escondido, adding that the firm buys materials locally and that the work supports local repair shops, fuel providers and sawmills. Vicente Fernandez, who identified himself as the mayordomo for a Capulín Canyon forest project, said the team has 71 acres targeted: "We've cleared 30 complete acres, we have 20 ongoing, we still have 21 more acres to issue out," and estimated several hundred cords of wood were made available to the public through local sawmill partnerships.

County staff emphasized that the 2021 Good Neighbor Agreement allows Taos County to accept Forest Service funds and hire contractors to implement on‑the‑ground treatments on national forest lands. "When counties and the Forest Service work side by side, we can unlock new levels of efficiency, workforce capacity, and community support," said Aaron Johnson of the Carson National Forest, describing how the authority can speed projects from planning to implementation and keep economic benefits local.

The county also highlighted a student monitoring program run with Taos Soil and Water Conservation District. "I learned a lot different things ... I look at the mountain in a different perspective now," said Lexi, a program participant who described pre‑ and post‑project tree counts that help measure outcomes and recruit youth into natural‑resource careers.

Commissioners asked how much ground had been touched; Logan estimated the map shown represents as much as 10,000 acres across multiple projects and watersheds, and said hundreds to more than 1,000 people have participated in varying roles across programs, including contractors, woodcutter programs and student crews. Commissioners thanked presenters and discussed recruiting more local leaders in districts that currently lack project coordination.

Logan and partners said projects are intended to reduce the risk of high‑severity fires and downstream impacts such as debris flows and well contamination after major fires. He noted some recent reports of private‑well contamination with heavy metals likely associated with either suppression activities or fire impacts and urged continuing cross‑agency work to limit long‑term watershed damage.

The county presentation closed with a call for continued local engagement: officials asked commissioners to help recruit community leaders and to support funding and administrative continuity so work can proceed between changes in federal or state agency priorities.

Next steps mentioned include continuing existing contracts, pursuing additional state funding where needed and seeking commissioner help to expand local leadership in northern and eastern districts of Taos County.