The New Mexico Statewide Assessment, Strategy and Response Plans identify natural resource conditions, needs and opportunities across all land ownerships in the state. Based on the currently available statewide geospatial resource data, this set of collaboratively developed resource models and map products helps identify priority landscapes for restoration and resource management.
New Mexico Statewide Natural Resources Assessment
The Assessment was developed through a partnership between ENMRD Forestry Division, the New Mexico chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Forest Guild, and nearly one hundred stakeholders and partners who provided the resource information, advice and insight that guided the project. The data of the Assessment were organized around eight data themes. Themes were suggested in the 2008 Farm Bill and outlined in guidelines provided by USDA Forest Service (Redesign Components: State Assessments & Resource Strategies). Some of these themes were adapted for New Mexico by the Stakeholders These themes are (with Forest Service language in parentheses if adapted):
- Biodiversity (Fish and Wildlife Habitat)
- Development Potential (Development Risk)
- Economic Potential
- Forest Health (Risk)
- Fragmentation (Forest Fragmentation)
- Green Infrastructure
- Water Quality and Supply
- Wildfire Risk
Further information on the resource data models developed for the Assessment is available in Data Atlases: Methods and Descriptions of Core Data Models EMNRD Forestry Division web portal.
New Mexico Forestry Division Statewide Strategy and Response Plans
The New Mexico Forestry Division Strategy and Response Plans intend to guide long-term Forestry Division management. In the Strategy Plan, the resource models were combined to represent Four Key Themes to help the Division identify priority landscapes for management.
- Conserve Working Landscapes
- Protect Forests and Watersheds from Harm
- Enhance Public Benefit From Natural Resources
- Promote Urban and Community Forestry
For each Key Theme, the Forestry Division identified the Issues, Trends, Barriers to Addressing the Issues and the Strategies proposed for implementation, and delineated the priority landscapes where the Forestry Division and partners can work to address the issues. In the Response Plan, the Forestry Division identified how they plan to invest programmatic and personnel resources to address the priorities proposed in the Strategy Plan, including how federal and other funding will be invested and how Forestry Division objectives align with national State and Private Forestry objectives. Online copies of the document are available on the EMNRD Forestry Division web portal.
