On behalf of the Forest Guild, a national association
of professional foresters with deep roots in community forestry, I
would like to comment on Peter Friederici’s article “Peace
Breaks Out in New Mexico’s Forests” (HCN, 10/30/06). The
Forest Guild was one of the collaborators on the Rowe Mesa
Collaborative Forest Restoration Project (CFRP) referred to in the
article. A quote in the article by a local individual maligns the
outcome of the project.
In fact, the Rowe Mesa project is
a model of a science-based collaboration that thinned the small,
young trees that choked the understory, protected large trees and
soils, and closed roads on a 300-acre ponderosa pine stand. The
Rowe Mesa restoration is one of the few CFRP grants that has
restored low-intensity surface fires to the site — a key
component of ecosystem restoration. Scientific monitoring of the
site shows that the forest is now closer to its historical
character and less at risk from severe fire. In addition, Rowe Mesa
continues to support fuelwood collection on which the local
community depends. More information is available at
www.forestguild.org/RoweMesa.html.
Alexander
Evans
Forest Guild, Research Director
Santa Fe, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The very model of a modern collaboration.
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