Protecting Santa Fe's Water-Source
Santa Fe, New Mexico is taking a proactive approach to safe-guarding their watershed, having learned a lesson from the tragedy of the Cerro Grande fire of 2000. Not only were 400 homes lost during the fire, but the city's reservoir was destroyed when tens of thousands of cubic yards of dirt, ash, and other debris washed down the slopes of the mountain, no longer anchored by living vegetation. Using mechanical thinning and prescribed burns to maintain the forest around their own reservoirs, Santa Fe hopes to maintain the health of their watershed and prevent what could be catastrophic damage to the forest, the surround community, and their water supply.