New Mexico Community Stories
The Mescalero Apache Reservation is located in the south-central mountains
of New Mexico, in a small portion of a once vast homelands encompassing
territory in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Mexico. Elevation on the reservation
ranges from 5,400 to 12,000 feet at the peak of Sierra Blanca. Approximately
85% of reservation lands are forested, of which 241,000 acres are Ponderosa
pine and mixed conifer timber.
The Mescalero Apache Tribe has been proactive in forest management and wildland
fire prevention for many years. In 1948, the Mescalero "Red Hats" were organized
and became the 1st firefighting group in the western United States, aside
from permanent Forest Service employees. Through the years, several sawmills
have been operated on the reservation. However, with the opening of Mescalero
Forest Products in 1987, Tribal lands were managed in a more consistent
and sustainable manner.
With the passage of the National Fire Plan in the late 1990's, the Tribe
quickly initiated projects to develop strategic fuel breaks and conduct
wildland-urban interface treatments. Projects for hazardous fuels reduction
and wildfire prevention have required close coordination and collaboration
between the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Tribal Division of Resource
Management & Protection, and community residents, as well as surrounding
non-Indian communities. The Tribe has been an active participant in the
Ruidoso Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI) Workgroup.
The Tribal Division of Resource Management & Protection has been contracting National Fire Plan funded projects through the BIA since June 1999. The first hazardous fuels reduction project conducted by the Tribe was the Skyline Fuel break, strategically treating 3,000 acres of ridge top near the western boundary of the reservation to reduce the potential of wildfire spreading eastward through reservation lands. Since then, the Tribe has shifted focus to thinning tree densities in the WUI around residential and recreational areas. The WUI projects are summarized as follows:
The projects are coordinated with harvest operations, recognizing that understory thinning alone often will not meet the objectives of the National Fire Plan. Cultural values and needs are also incorporated into all project planning and development.
The Mescalero Apache Tribe is currently developing a comprehensive long-range plan for hazardous fuels reduction and wildfire prevention. The plan will consider not only Tribal lands, but also interfaces along common boundaries with the Lincoln National Forest and the Villages of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, and Cloudcroft. The Village of Ruidoso, located at the northern boundary of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, is ranked #1 in New Mexico for urban fire danger. Source water protection is also being incorporated into the plan, to protect drinking water sources for both Mescalero and the surrounding communities. This includes mapping wells, water storage tanks and hydrants with a Geographic Information System, as well as identifying additional water system needs for community fire protection.
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