WE RESTORE, SUPPORT, AND CONNECT OUR NATURAL SPACES
What is the Rio Chama CFLRP?
The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), enabled by Congress, is designed to increase the resiliency of forests and watersheds in priority forests across the U.S.
The Rio Chama CFLRP is the largest project of the 2-3-2 Cohesive Strategy Partnership, which serves as the local collaborative group working with the Forest Service. The Program provides $30 million in funding over ten years.
While the funds from the Forest Service are reserved for federal land, the project is intended to address all lands; private, state, and federal. The federal dollars are leveraged to secure funding for cross-boundary work which is facilitated by the 2-3-2.
Visit the USFS CFLRP website to learn more about CFLRP.
Goals
- Increase the forest resilience to disturbances like wildfire, insects, disease, and climate change
- Restore watershed and riparian areas to improve water quality and watershed function
- Improve range conditions and wildlife habitat and connectivity
- Support local rural economies and create jobs by utilizing restoration byproducts
- Connect with tribal, land grant and acequia communities, and engaging youth in public land management
2023 Accomplishments
- Executed a 10-year Master Agreement with the Forest Stewards Guild for watershed restoration
- Finalized and implemented the 2-3-2 Partnership Multiparty Monitoring Plan, including year 1 of field monitoring for ecological and socioeconomic indicators.
- Executed a Tribal Forest Protection Act Workforce Development Agreement with Santa Clara Pueblo for watershed and forest restoration treatments.
- Permanently staffed two remaining Rio Chama CFLRP United States Forest Service positions (GIS specialist and Public Affairs Officer).
- Finalized and implemented joint communications strategies for the 2-3-2 and Rio Chama CFLRP.
- Completed prescribed burns on the Carson National Forest (Dorado/Cañada del Agua) and Santa Fe National Forest (Golondrino), totaling 4,381 acres, and implemented 2,018 acres of managed Comanche Fire.
- Completed 15,514 acres of fuels treatments, 15,951 acres of watershed improvement, and 47,921 ccf (hundreds of cubic feet) timber volume sold on National Forest land.
- Facilitated cross-boundary CFLRP treatment planning.
- Hosted three 2-3-2 Partnership tour meetings with combined total of 170 attendees, including Tribal, federal, state, non-profit, legislative representatives, and research partners.
Where is the Rio Chama CFLRP?
Water is the critical connection between the upstream headwaters in the San Juan Mountains and millions of residents in downstream communities who rely on that water. This project covers 3.81 million acres across Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico (for reference, that’s larger than the state of Connecticut). The Rio Chama CFLR is one of twelve recently designated CFLRP’s in the United States.
Who is part of the Rio Chama CFLRP?
The CFLRP is inherently collaborative. Around 50% of the land in the Rio Chama CFLRP is managed by the United States Forest Service. The remaining land is private, state, tribal, and municipal along with land managed by other federal agencies. In a sense, everyone who falls within (and even adjacent to) the boundaries of the CFLRP are participating in or affected by the work, though not always in an official nature. Those who are formally part of the project can be found here on our partner page.