All five national forests in New Mexico are revising their forest management plans for the first time since the 1980s. These plans determine how Wilderness, wildlife, water, and other natural resources are managed for the next 20-30 years, and are the absolute best opportunity to ensure forest and climate change stability.
New Mexico Wild has been engaged on these planning processes for nearly a decade, and will continue to fight for increased recommended wilderness, accurate wild and scenic river eligibility, and wildlife connectivity even after the plans are signed and implemented. Our volunteer inventories of the Cibola, Gila, and Santa Fe National Forests, as well as the narrative testimonies of our supporters that love the Carson and Lincoln National Forests, have helped guide our responses to the forest plans at their various steps. We cannot thank our volunteers and supporters enough for the commitment to New Mexico’s forests!
We are currently in the objection resolution phase of the process with the Carson, Cibola, and Santa Fe National Forests, waiting to meet with forest officials to personally advocate for increased recommended wilderness areas. We are also anticipating the release of the proposed final forest plans for the Gila and Lincoln National Forests, at which point we hope to see better plans in response to our comments submitted on the draft forest plans.
Across the board, our forests are proposing supremely disappointing plans in terms of wild land and roadless area protection, wild and scenic river eligibility, and climate change resiliency. We are hopeful that the Biden administration’s commitment to 30 by 30 will lead the forests to see the bigger picture and finalize forest plans that will lead to a brighter future!
Sign Up for Updates
Protection Campaigns
Impact for our Efforts
Wilderness Protection Campaign
Stories from the Wild