The Grant Soil & Water Conservation District would like to recognize the Silver City District of the U S Forest Service for active management of our overgrown forests.

Smoke was seen west of Silver City a couple of weeks ago. It was coming from the Bar-6 prescribed burn in the Burro Mountains. This was one in a series of burns, which have been conducted by the Silver City District over the past decade. These burn areas are hand thinned of smaller trees before the burn is conducted. The result is a more open forest allowing grasses and herbaceous plants to thrive. These plants support wildlife and livestock, and they also retain water in the upper portions of the watershed. Their roots provide a pathway for rain water to penetrate the soil and become available to plant life and eventually the water table.

Foresters tell us that historically the process of forest thinning occurred naturally by periodic, natural fire. Nearly a hundred years of fire protection has left us with an unnaturally tree-crowded forest, and we commend the Silver City District's new ranger, Diane Taliaferro, for continuing this program. Further blocks of forest are scheduled for treatment in the future. This work is funded by more than one source. The Forest Service invests money in areas known as wildland-urban interface. New Mexico Game & Fish recognizes the value of forest thinning to wildlife and contributes Habitat Stamp dollars.

The Bar-6 fire remained firmly under control but occasionally we hear about fires such as this one getting away. We all need to step back and take a long view of our forest and the threat of wildfire. Eventually these forests are going to burn. It is what they do. No matter how much fire safety we practice, there are a variety of ignition sources out there that will eventually catch up to us. Dense, overgrown forests burn hot and are difficult to control.

Efforts like the Bar-6 burn are conducted after considerable planning, and there are dozens of firefighters on hand with several fire trucks. What would have happened if that area had started burning some breezy June afternoon and nobody knew about it for a couple of hours? The Grant Soil & Water Conservation District commends the Silver City District of the Forest Service for this work.

Dusty Hunt
Silver City