Governor candidate Steve Pearce lays out forest management plan while in Ruidoso

• The plan calls for a fire suppression specialist on call with Response and Recovery Bureau Watch Program during heightened fire season

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican running for governor of New Mexico, was in Ruidoso last week, where he attended a fundraiser for local Republicans and went over his proposed forest management policy.

His campaign arm released a summary of the policy and his remarks, which began by pointing out that one of the state’s great benefits is the vast expanse of undeveloped areas.

“We have abundant public land and that land should be accessible to all,” he said. “As an avid hiker and backpacker, I value the majesty of our national forests, the solitude of our wilderness and the limitless horizon of the eastern side of the state. I believe it is critical that we invest in forest management to protect our forests and watersheds from the impact of extreme fire and drought. These lands are the lifeblood of our rural economy,y including tourism, forest products, and agriculture.

“Restoring the health of our forests will allow the natural recharging of our streams and aquifers, providing much-needed water that an arid state usually captures. New Mexico used to have more than 100 timber mills and a vibrant forest economy. We should immediately rebuild that once thriving economy, restoring our healthy forests while renewing hope in some of the most economically distressed, rural counties of our state.”

An entire new industry based around bio-fuels production and biomass energy can be created producing alternative energy while cleaning up overgrown forests and reducing the likelihood of massive wildfires hat could destroy forests for generations, he said.

“As governor, I look forward to working with our local communities and all stakeholders to finally save our forests, restore our watersheds, and create good paying jobs for all New Mexicans,” he said.

His forest management plan is divided into three initiatives, updating New Mexico’s Forest and Watershed Health Plan; creating a state forestry and homeland security and emergency management fire suppression taskforce; and moving on a healthy forest management plan with the federal government .

Initiated in 2003 by Gov. Bill Richardson, the NMFWHP was a comprehensive study of the state’s forest and watershed needs. Implemented in 2005, New Mexico State Forestry Division still is required to follow directives within the 15-year-old report as it develops annual Forest Action plans. Working with the state legislature to update and modernize this document is a foundational need. The update will show what has worked in the state’s management and where improvements are needed. In the development of the future strategy, the Planning Committee should cover traditional density per acre, optimizing watershed health through forest management, sustainable timbering operations, updated review of impacts of timbering on native New Mexican species and areas managed recently.

The State Forestry Division is responsible for fighting and suppressing all wildfires on state and often private lands. New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is charged with preparation and response to state level emergencies. Under Pearce’s administration, a taskforce comprised of staff from both would be created to ensure New Mexico is ready to combat any potential wildfire as quickly as possible. This will include ensuring a fire suppression specialist is on call with Response and Recovery Bureau Watch Program during heightened fire season. The taskforce also will be charged with reviewing the current response structure that is in place both at NMSF and NMDHSEM to determine if greater efficiency can be achieved with all aspects of wildfire response from search and rescue and firefighting.

America’s national forests are sadly out of control, Pearce cotnends.

“In Lincoln County, you cannot only see the destructive impact of failing to properly maintain our forests with the Little Bear Fire scar, but you can see how unhealthy the Lincoln National Forest is where it meets the Mescalero Apache lands,” he said. “We must once and for all stop burning down our forests and protect our watersheds, species habitat, grazing allotments and recreational opportunities, while at the same time restarting the forestry industry and creating jobs for New Mexicans.”

In Congress, he supported efforts that allow states to partner with the United States Forest Service to manage the forests within its boundaries, Pearce said.

“This would be ideal in New Mexico,” he said. “It would allow the state to restart traditional timbering operations, maintain all forests to the same individualized standard that is best for the health and sustainability of the state’s lands and watershed. I have also supported efforts to support bio-mass as it would go a long way in providing a market for timber products in New Mexico.

“I will use the information gathered by the Planning Committee to work with the U.S. Forest Service to identify areas that need to be treated immediately. I will urge the Forest Service to use authorities provided to them under the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus bill to expedite projects in critical areas while also working with stakeholders to make sure project costs are reasonable. This work would begin immediately.”

He also plans to increase usage of the Good Neighbor Authority created in the 2014 Farm Bill and expanded in the Omnibus bill to treat large scale areas, Pearce said. He will work with the Forest Service to develop a master agreement for all of the forests in the state and then create supplemental project agreements for each individual forest.

“I will work with Forest Service, the state, and interest groups to fund projects and setup individual accounts for each forest where timber sales from each respective forest will go. These funds will be used to do work, administration costs, roads, watershed restoration, and NEPA compliance.”