2-3-2 Projects

Learn about the 2-3-2's work on the ground.

Bighorn State Line prescribed burn

The Rio Grande National Forest worked in partnership with the Carson National Forest to implement a prescribed burn across the Colorado/New Mexico state line, which also crossed the boundary between regions 2 and 3 of the USFS. This project is seen as a huge success in cross-boundary planning and implementation among the 2-3-2.

Oso Diversion

The Oso Diversion is part of the San Juan - Chama Watershed Project, which diverts water from three streams (including the Little Oso) in the San Juan Basin across the continental divide and into the Rio Grande basin. These diversions provide 75-90% of Albuquerque's water, much of Santa Fe's water and is the sole water source for several rural communities in New Mexico.

All Hands All Lands pile burns

The All Hands All Lands Burn Team is a collaborative effort to bring fire back to frequent-fire ecosystems. The Burn Team supports pile burning, thinning and research projects across the 2-3-2 landscape on public and private lands.

Plumtaw Fire

San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership (SJHFHP), one of the place-based collaboratives within the 2-3-2, identified the Plumtaw area as a priority for treatment years before the Plumtaw Fire started. The area provides ciritcal drinking water for the Town of Pagosa Springs, and the Partnership foresaw the devastating consequences of a large fire in this watershed. Private subdivisions like the Lost Valley of the San Juans and the proximity to Pagosa provided additional reasons for concern if a fire started in the area. The Pagosa Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest, who manages this land, heard the community's concerns and took action, completing a fuels reduction treatment along Fourmile Road in 2021. Brush and understory vegetation were cleared and masticated along the road, creating a fuel break for effective management of future fires.

Rock Creek

The Rock Creek Integrated Resource Service Contract (IRSC) is a 7-year forest restoration project on the Cuba Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. The IRSC will treat approximately 1,050 acres and will produce fuelwood for local Tribal communities through the Wood For Life Program (WFL) as well as commercial timber for local mills.

Bighorn State Line prescribed burn

The Rio Grande National Forest worked in partnership with the Carson National Forest to implement a prescribed burn across the Colorado/New Mexico state line, which also crossed the boundary between regions 2 and 3 of the USFS. This project is seen as a huge success in cross-boundary planning and implementation among the 2-3-2.

The Rio Grande led the effort, completing a pre-commercial thinning treatment in 2014. This treatment reduced stand density and prepared the fuel bed for fire, while favoring fire-resistant tree species. The prescribed burn was implemented in May 2021, successfully burning 560 acres. After the burn, pheremone packets (called MCF caps) were placed on 18 Douglas fir trees per acre. Although white fir are the preferred host species for the Western Spruce Budworm, Douglas fir are very susceptible to invasion after fire. The MCF caps send a signal to the Western Spruce Budworm, telling them that the tree is already occupied, preventing further infestation. The use of these pheremones in the burned area has prevented the spread of Western Spruce Budworm.

Oso Diversion

The Oso Diversion is part of the San Juan - Chama Watershed Project, which diverts water from three streams (including the Little Oso) in the San Juan Basin across the continental divide and into the Rio Grande basin. These diversions provide 75-90% of Albuquerque's water, much of Santa Fe's water and is the sole water source for several rural communities in New Mexico.

The water that is diverted at the Oso Diversion originates and flows directly off of a large, privately owned ranch that borders the continental divide in the southern San Juan Mountains. This emphasizes the importance of effective and proactive management on private lands.

The removal of sediment from the diversions is a major challenge for the Bureau of Reclamation, who operates and manges the Project. Even with normal streamflow levels, sediment needs to be regularly removed. If there was a fire or other sever disturbance upstream, sediment loads could double, and potentially interrupt the flow of water through the diversion. This risk worries municipal water managers in New Mexico and has inspired conversations about how they can be more involved in forest health initiatives in the headwaters that feed the San Juan - Chama Project area, especially on private lands.

These ongoing conversations showcase the soul of the 2-3-2: we are connected by water and we must work together to adapt to an increasingly arid future.

All Hands All Lands pile burns

The All Hands All Lands Burn Team is a collaborative effort to bring fire back to frequent-fire ecosystems. The Burn Team supports pile burning, thinning and research projects across the 2-3-2 landscape on public and private lands.

Plumtaw Fire

 San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership  (SJHFHP), one of the place-based collaboratives within the 2-3-2, identified the Plumtaw area as a priority for treatment years before the Plumtaw Fire started. The area provides ciritcal drinking water for the Town of Pagosa Springs, and the Partnership foresaw the devastating consequences of a large fire in this watershed. Private subdivisions like the Lost Valley of the San Juans and the proximity to Pagosa provided additional reasons for concern if a fire started in the area. The Pagosa Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest, who manages this land, heard the community's concerns and took action, completing a fuels reduction treatment along Fourmile Road in 2021. Brush and understory vegetation were cleared and masticated along the road, creating a fuel break for effective management of future fires.

That fire came along in 2022, after an exceptionally dry Spring for southwest Colorado. The fire burned a total of 721 acres in warm dry mixed-conifer forest with gambel oak in the understory. Fire managers used the Fourmile Road, where SJHFHP had advocated for fuel reduction treatment, as a control line. While weather and fuel conditions are the ultimate decider of fire outcomes, the previous management along the Fourmile Road contributed to increased decision space and safety for firefighters.

This level of collaboration between communities and land managers is what the 2-3-2 strives for. Not every fire ends in a good story like the Plumtaw did, but identifying priorities through the collaborative process can improve our odds.

Rock Creek

The Rock Creek Integrated Resource Service Contract (IRSC) is a 7-year forest restoration project on the Cuba Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. The IRSC will treat approximately 1,050 acres and will produce fuelwood for local Tribal communities through the  Wood For Life Program  (WFL) as well as commercial timber for local mills.

In an effort to maintain or improve water quality, watershed function and habitat quality and connectivity for native and desired non-native fish and wildlife species, the USFS is developing a new agreement with Trout Unlimited. This agreement will support watershed restoration work at multiple locations on Forest Service land and allows land managers the ability to move funds across boundaries to complete key work on the ground within the Rio Chama CFLRP.