It is a sincere pleasure to share the following story with you all. As of December 16th, 2019, New Mexico State Forestry Division signed a landowner agreement that will enable work to start on 9 private ranches in the Zuni Mountains, providing a supply of timber to keep Mt. Taylor Millworks operational for the foreseeable future. This helps sustain jobs that are critical to New Mexico communities while restoring fire adapted forests across fence lines. This is an agreement that we all should celebrate, a moment that was brought to fruition through years of collaboration, innovation, and brave use of a new authority. Thank you all for your continued commitment to building strong partnerships and working together to protect New Mexico’s forested landscapes and the communities that depend upon them.
Please read the full story:
In September, the Forest Service received an order from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona stating that the agency’s “timber management” actions must cease on five national forests in New Mexico and on the Tonto National Forest in Arizona pending formal consultation regarding potential effects to the Mexican spotted owl. In October 2019, a modification to the court-ordered injunction allowed for certain timber management activities to resume. However, since the forest restoration work being implemented on the Cibola National Forest by Mt Taylor Manufacturing is located in Mexican spotted owl critical habitat, all thinning activities remain shut down.
Trees that were already cut before the injunction were allowed to be hauled back to the mill in Milan, NM with the last load being delivered in mid-November, keeping the mill operating almost through Christmas. Mt. Taylor Manufacturing is a family-owned business with approximately 40 employees, 90% of whom are from the Navajo Nation. Mt. Taylor Manufacturing is a partner in the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) project and has re-designed its business around the use of the wood by-products of restoration treatments in the Zuni Mountains.
On December 16, 2019 the New Mexico Forestry Division signed a landowner agreement and purchase order that will enable work to start on the first of nine private ranches in the Zuni Mountains. The funding source is through the state Forest and Watershed Restoration Act (FAWRA) that Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in March 2019. Through utilization of a state price agreement enabling quick action, the contractor Jeremy Hanlon with Forest Fitness has arranged with Mt. Taylor Manufacturing to use the wood from restoration treatments. The Forestry Division has identified 4,500 acres of private land in the vicinity, which will supplement the wood supply when it is unavailable on the National Forest and provide a long term reliable wood supply. The work is also essential to continue to reduce the threat of uncharacteristic wildfire, improve watershed health, and restore fire-adapted ecosystems for wildlife in the Zuni Mountains.
More information related to the Mexican Spotted Owl Court-ordered Injunction can be found at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cibola/home/?cid=FSEPRD666433
If you have any questions about the injunction or how this project is moving forward feel free to contact Gabe@forestguild.org.