Flying Horse Fuel Break
Project Objectives:
1.) Clean Up of the existing 4.0-mile fuel break (about 74 acres).
2.) Widening the existing 4.0-mile fuel break (about 133 acres).
3.) Road Maintenance of existing ranch roads and reopened logging roads as needed as work on the fuel break progresses.
4.) Road Reopening of up to 10 miles of existing logging roads as needed ahead of implementation work on the fuel break.
5.) The North portion of fuel break expansion entails continuing the fuel break approximately 0.8 miles to the North, tying it into the NM Highway 38 corridor near Bobcat Pass.
6.) The Primary portion of fuel break expansion entails continuing the fuel break approximately 4.8 miles to the south along the County Line ridge to the southwest corner of the Flying Horse Ranch.
7.) The Secondary portion of fuel break expansion entails continuing the fuel break roughly 1.9 miles along the southern boundary of the ranch, a boundary shared with Taos Pueblo lands.
8.) The Tertiary portion of fuel break expansion entails continuing the fuel break approximately 2.6 miles to the south down along the strategically located ridge to the east of the Comanche Creek headwaters and then back up a side slope to the southern boundary of the Flying Horse Ranch. Priorities 5-8 total about 495 acres.
The existing fuel break and the surrounding area was devastated by the snow squall and windstorm disaster on December 15, 2021. Most of the standing timber within the Project Area was uprooted and laid flat during this disaster. The FHR Project will entail cleanup and maintenance of blown down timber on the existing 4.0-mile fuel break within a treatment area of about 74 acres. The project will also widen the existing 4.0-mile fuel break and expand the fuel break to the north and south an additional 10.2 miles, adding a treatment area of approximately 628 acres. The total completed fuel break length will be about 14.2 miles, and total treatment area will be approximately 702 acres. The targeted minimum fuel break width is 300 feet; average width will be 400 feet. Firefighter safety zones will also be created along the fuel break at strategic locations. Most of the fuel break will be clear cut, especially the areas that suffered complete blowdown of all timber. Fuel break areas that still contain standing timber may end up being clear cuts, or they may become shaded fuel breaks with a basal area of 5-30 square feet per acre; these specific decisions will be made by the Landowner and the CWA as the project progresses
The project area contains many existing roads that will be utilized for access by log trucks and light vehicles, but up to 10 miles of old, existing logging road corridors will be opened up to provide access to the project area. The project will also include maintenance of existing ranch roads and reopened logging roads as needed.
The Cimarron Watershed Alliance (CWA)and its Subcontractor(s) will be responsible for clearing and salvaging downed merchantable timber from the Project Area as well as harvesting standing merchantable timber from the Project Area locations that still contain standing trees. All merchantable timber (saw logs) will be salvaged or harvested, limbed, cut to length as specified, and decked using heavy forestry and logging equipment. Merchant able timber (saw logs) will be donated to the CWA by the Landowner. Program Income will be generated under this Project as a result of removing Merchantable Timber that may have a market value. The CWA, its Subcontractor(s), and the Landowner will work together collaboratively with each other and with the buyers of the Merchantable Timber to help facilitate effective and efficient approaches for loading and removal (trucking) of decked sawlogs. Non-merchantable timber, small trees and bushes, dead and down fuels, slash, tops, and stumps from the blown down timber may be masticated on site, piled, buried, or hauled off site. Cured piles will be burned during the winter at some point in the near future.
The Flying Horse Ranch Fuel Break Project (FHR Project) will maintain and widen an existing 4.0-mile fuel break and then expand it approximately 10.2 miles (Project Area). The FHR Project is located on the privately owned Flying Horse Ranch in western Colfax County, NM, along the Taos County line. This 14.2-mile fuel break project is a small but critical piece of approximately 75 miles of fuel breaks that are currently being planned and implemented in the Enchanted Circle Landscape within Taos and Colfax Counties