Seed Tree Re-inventory
Santa Fe and Carson National Forests
2024
This is the second and final year of this program working with Indian Youth Service Corps and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to inventory seed trees on the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests for future seed supplies for the Santa Clara Nursery, New Mexico Reforestation Center, and other native plant nurseries. This project will support:
- Revegetation by meeting the increasing demand for suitable seed cone collection sites.
- Tribal Youth Employment by providing meaningful seasonal employment and natural resource skill development for local tribal youth to pursue careers in forestry, natural resources, horticulture, and more.
- Knowledge Transfer by facilitating opportunities for intergenerational knowledge sharing between experienced tribal forestry practitioners.
- Workforce Development by contributing to skill building of the workforce in northern New Mexico and the greater 2-3-2 landscape.
2023
- Project in partnership between the Santa Fe NF and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps-New Mexico (RMYC-NM), to help meet the increasing demand for trees for reforestation efforts and to make use of the expanded tree nursery capacity in the southwest while also providing for workforce development.
- The project re-inventoried superior seed trees and stands that were originally documented by map and compass and tagged in the 1970s and 1980s as part of a statewide tree improvement program.
- The project uses information from the paper records to re-inventory previously mapped superior seed trees and stands, record GPS coordinates, conduct a preliminary condition assessment, take photos, and update records.
- Information will be validated by a forester to determine suitability of the trees and stands for cone collection, for the forest’s reforestation projects and may also provide seeds for nurseries such as the Santa Clara Tribal nursery.
- RMYC-NM was able to find one crew member from local indigenous youth and a retired Tribal forester for the project.
- The project model is planned to be expanded to the Carson NF in 2024 and potentially other Tribal communities in New Mexico to re-inventory other superior seed trees while providing opportunities for Tribal youth in the Rio Chama CFLRP landscape.
