News
Reflections on Collaborative Conservation
By Berit Robnett, AmeriCorps VISTA Collaboration Specialist The past year at the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (NMFWRI) as an AmeriCorps VISTA was full of learning,…
Restoring Waterways
Volunteers build low-tech structures to reduce erosion on Manuelitas Creek 081426 A headcut on the Manuelitas Creek A headcut caused by erosion on the Manuelitas Creek in Northern New Mexico.…
SWERI Monitoring Crews Learn from Each Other
Staff from our sister Institutes – the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute (CFRI) in Fort Collins, CO and the Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI) in Flagstaff, AZ – joined our summer monitoring…
After the Fire: Contour Log Felling to Stabilize Hillslopes
Trees burned in wildfires can be a source of materials for restoring post-fire landscapes. Click on the button below and scroll down to see this guide and other restoration resources.
Fire history in the Four Corners (updated 2025)
Wildfires in the Four Corners have grown larger in the last couple of decades. Dana Heusinkveld, NMFWRI’s GIS Research Specialist, created this timeline of wildfires in the region encompassing New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.
To see fires that are currently burning in New Mexico along with historic fire info in the NM Fire Viewer, click the button below.
Restoration and Education
NMFWRI provides technical assistance and practical knowledge in forest and woodland restoration to reduce the threat of high-severity, high-intensity wildfire, restore healthy and sustainable forested ecosystems, and encourage restoration-based economies.
GIS/Mapping
NMFWRI represents the state’s only dedicated capability for supporting the spatial data analysis needs of external stakeholders in the natural resources sector, as well as the GIS/GPS capacity for Highlands University and for most of northern New Mexico.
Monitoring
NMFWRI's Ecological Monitoring Program maintains a professionally managed field crew to collect data on short and long-term ecosystem responses to restoration treatments in forest and riparian ecosystems. The data provide a critical scientific basis for adaptive management decisions and improved forest treatment effectiveness.
Collaboration
NMFWRI supports natural-resource-based collaboration by assisting communities to form collaborative organizations and build the capacity to work together to solve problems and restore natural habitats.