Jemez Residents Invited to Jemez Ranger District Open House
Residents of the Jemez Valley will have an opportunity to have questions answered and to interact with the rangers representing the different departments at the Jemez Ranger District offices in Jemez Springs on August 31, 2016 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
This will be an opportunity to welcome to our area the newly appointed District Ranger, Brian Riley, who will be present at the open house together with the other rangers in the Jemez. Since arriving at his post, Riley has become aware that there are many issues concerning the programs and activities in the Jemez Ranger District that local residents wish to learn about and which the rangers at our local station need to inform the public about. Foremost at the moment are the Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration plan and the proposed geothermal exploration in the Jemez Mountains above the Valles Caldera.
While not everyone enjoys or can tolerate choking in smoke descending into the Jemez Valley during managed burns, the stated goal of the Forest Restoration plan is to improve the condition of the forest and to reduce the risk of uncontrolled, catastrophic wildfires that would, by their definition, be a threat to our very existence. Additionally the plan aims to improve the forest habitat by restoring old growth characteristics, improving water quality and water functions, protecting historical sites, and providing public and commercial access to "woody by-products".
Certain practices, such as thinning junipers in the lower Jemez Valley, prescribed fires and the management of natural fires, riparian zone restoration as in the restoration of the meadow jumping mouse habitat, road closures and rehabilitation, fisheries and wildlife management, and re-establishment of protected species, other than the mouse, have been among the contentious issues in the Jemez Valley recently.
The recently proposed managed natural fire on Virgin Mesa had to be postponed, not cancelled, because of the unexpectedly heavy rain in that area (over one inch fell in a short time). This unfortunately led to the abandonment of all the gathered resources, but a lot of the preparatory work (fire-lines etc.) is in place, and a resumption of a burn above Jemez Springs will probably take place later this year, when conditions become favorable.
Another issue which has recently re-emerged is the proposed geothermal leasing in the Santa Fe National Forest above the Valles Caldera. The proposed project area would include the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway, the Jemez Historic Site National Landmark and the Monument Canyon Research Natural Area, as well as SFNF administrative sites in the area. This has already been the subject of several public meetings held in Santa Fe, Jemez Pueblo, El Rito and Albuquerque. However, with the extension of the formal comment period to Oct. 28, 2016, this meeting will be an opportunity for anyone wishing to participate in this process to learn what the issues are and how to comment on them.
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