Photo of a forest stand from the midnight fire tour

Rio Arriba County Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Living with wildfire is a part of living in Rio Arriba County. How we prepare for it makes all the difference. 

Community wildfire protection planning (CWPPs) is the formal process for documenting wildfire hazard, determining values at risk, and prioritizing actions to reduce wildfire risk across jurisdictions. These plans help to guide state, federal, and private investments in wildfire risk reduction by providing a legitimate process for establishing priorities at the county and community level. Many funding opportunities require project ideas to be documented as a priority within a recent CWPP to determine eligibility for funding.  

With that in mind, the Core Team, Stakeholders, and the Rio Arriba County Commission are beginning to update the 2017 Rio Arriba CWPP. This process will occur from July of 2023 and the final update is due to the New Mexico Fire Planning Task Force for final approval in winter of 2024. We’re asking for your time and effort to complete this comprehensive planning effort for the entire County. We look forward to working with you on the 2024 CWPP update and hope that you will help us make the county and it’s residents more prepared for wildfire! 

A flyer describing upcoming public meetings

Review the 2017 plan

By building on the strengths and knowledge of residents and professionals in the area we collaboratively created a useful plan to guide wildfire preparedness in the coming years.
Goals of the plan: 

  • Work collaboratively with the community and others interested in and supporting the effort 
  • Prioritize actions to advance Rio Arriba County's wildfire resilience
  • Identify assets available in the community to prepare for and deal with wildfire 
  • Create a diverse team of interested people to carry out the plan 
  • Describe progress that has been made to prepare for wildfire 
  • Identify "Communities at risk" and determine their risk of wildfire 
  • Identify the Wildland Urban Interface where homes and infrastructure are at risk of wildfire 

For more information, see the contacts in the yellow bar below. 

The planning process was led by the Forest Stewards Guild and Rio Arriba County. 

Contacts

For more information on the Rio Arriba County CWPP Update

please contact Sarah Demay at Sarah@forestguild.org or

Gabe Kohler at gabe@forestguild.org

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