Thursday, June 09, 2011

Otero County moves on Lincoln emergency fire plan

The Otero County Commission voted Tuesday to approve Dr. Lawrence D. Garrett to move forward on compiling a forest strategy plan to reduce the fire danger in the Lincoln National Forest. The approval was done during the county commission's work session. Commissioners are concerned about the 440,000 acres of forest within the county's boundaries. In an emergency meeting May 23, commissioners passed a resolution declaring an emergency in the county due to extreme drought, dangerous fire conditions and the Mayhill Fire. A full strategy plan could be completed between 60 and 90 days. Garrett said he would need a collective group of parties from Otero County and a group of scientists to guide the strategy plan. Commission Chairman Ronny Rardin said the plan would focus on the highest at-risk fire areas down to the lowest risk areas of the forest in Otero County. "We're not bound by the Forest Service with regulations," Rardin said. "We're going in an emergency state with companies. We want to make sure we're not going in and destroying the forest, but managing it."...more

In a press statement today Congressman Pearce

...praised the efforts of the Otero County Commission for voting on Tuesday to create an “Emergency Forest Plan” that could lead to the logging of trees in the county as early as this fall. On Tuesday, Otero County Commissioners Ronny Rardin, Tommy Herrell, and Susan Flores approved a proposal to create the plan and tell the federal government that the county intends to log approximately ten to twenty thousand acres near the community of Cloudcroft. “I commend the Otero County Commission for their efforts for responsible forest management,” Congressman Pearce said. “I thank Commissioners Rardin, Herrell, and Flores for putting the safety of New Mexicans first, and for choosing a course of responsible forest management...

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