National Park Service

Description

This project is a component of the Valles Caldera National Preserve â¿¿Resilient Landscapes⿝ Project that is restoring the Preserveâ¿¿s landscape, wildlife habitats, and forested watersheds to allow natural, low-intensity ô¿¿¡re regimes to return to the Jemez Mountains. The project involves forest thinning (removal of small-diameter trees for use in a local timber mill) to reduce forest fuel loads, followed by planned managed ô¿¿¡res to increase ecosystem resilience to future natural ô¿¿¡res. The project involves over 30 local/regional collaborating organizations, state and federal agencies, and neighboring Native American tribes; collaborators assist with project planning and monitoring of project results, while contractors remove trees for use in forest products manufacture and job creation. The Northern Arizona University component is to monitor the forest thinning and planned ô¿¿¡re impacts on soil structure, chemistry and soil-dwelling invertebrates, and sharing the information with all the collaborative groups, and the general public through NPS interpretive programs. The soils project also contributes to understanding habitat impacts on the Federally-endangered Jemez Mountains Salamander, a terrestrial soil-dwelling amphibian.

Who can apply

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

Contact

Grants Management Specialist Kelly Adams <br/>Kelly_Adams@nps.gov<br/>
Kelly_Adams@nps.gov