In New Mexico and across the West wildfires are burning through wildlands, farms, ranches, and communities. Lesli Allison, executive director of the Western Landowners Alliance, has many years of experience in prescribed burn management—and like many New Mexcians she’s directly affected by the fires. She helps us to understand how we got to the volatile situation we’re in, where “controlled” fires so easily go out of control, and the critical importance of prioritizing good land management if we want to keep our ecosystems and our communities safe and in balance as we move into an ever more arid future.
Photo by Malachi Brooks on Unsplash
FIRE RESOURCES
All Together New Mexico
NM Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
New Mexico Fire Information
New Mexico Fire Relief
The Food Depot
TIMELINE
3’09.3403 wildfires in New Mexico and the extent of their damage
4’34 losses in agricultural and rural commuities
6’18 some of the fires are from “prescribed burns” … others have different causes
10’30 anger at the forest service and the movement to stop prescribed burns altogether and look to alternatives
11’20 fire-adapted forests, fire suppression, and the overgrowth we have now
15’55 the need to fund forest management on a long-term basis
18’05 fire, forests, and wildlife
19’54 prescribed burning in agriculture
23’44 fear-based forestry vs. cultural burning
27’09 ecological perspective on the earth’s resources, wise-use perspective, and relational/regenerative perspective
31’59 support for and challenges to a regenerative way of managing land and agriculture
35’49 can we let land return to nature as a way of restoration?
38’16 no perfect solutions, the need to work together
40’28 New Mexico law addressing prescribed fire on private land
43’22 what people can do to contribute to a healthier system
44’59 vilifying “other” people