Catron County Community Wildfire Protection Plan
COMMUNITY PROFILE

Fire Threat

Fire threat (fuel hazard) as used in this plan was determined by the computer generated models, which were created for this Plan. The factors considered in the model were vegetation cover type, structural stage (vegetation density), aspect and slope.

Fire threat	Acres
Low	1,220,412
Moderate	1,759,514
High	1,456,351
Table # 3

The County was divided into 30 meter x 30 meter (90 feet x 90 feet) grid cells, and each cell received a rating for the factors being considered. The resulting rating per grid cell is a relative rating of fire threat within the County for use of comparison of fire threat within the County and for determining treatment priorities. Detailed information on how fire threat was determined can be found in the See Appendix Volume 2 Data (page 32). The table at left shows the fire threat levels (a three division classification of the ratings). Fire threat maps can be seen at Appendix Volume 3 – Maps 16-17

Vegetation Cover Type

Vegetative Cover Type	Acres
Ponderosa Pine	1,319,728
Mixed Conifer	154,035
Pinyon/Juniper	1,824,746
Grass/Shrub	1,088,951
Other	49,636
Table # 4

Vegetation typing was taken from "reGAP" satellite imagery project supplied by the University of New Mexico. Using this mapping there are 45 vegetation types in Catron County. The appendix contains narrative and tables with detailed information on these types. The 45 vegetation types were necessarily grouped into five major categories for map display and summary purposes as shown in Table #4 , but all 45 vegetation classes are used in the models. See Appendix Volume 2 Data (page 35-36) and Appendix Volume 3 – Maps 5, 21-22

Insects And Diseases

There are many insects and disease endemic to the forests of the County, although there have not been large areas of epidemic infections. However with the drought of recent years and ever increasing densities of vegetation, outbreaks of concern are occurring with increasing frequency. The Ips species of bark beetles is probably the insect with the most threat to fire danger because of its potential to kill trees over such large areas in the mixed conifer and ponderosa pine. There are numerous other insects that can cause considerable havoc usually on smaller scale and are of concern mostly in high value areas such as around homes. Dwarf mistletoe has been the disease of most concern because of its spread potential in dense stands and potential to so adversely affect the health, vigor and seed production of trees over larger areas. Management of vegetation in a near "natural" condition will assure insect and disease is normally endemic. More information on the insects and disease present in the County is in the Appendix. See Appendix Volume 2 Data (page 61-62)

Values at Risk

In an ideal calculation, combinations of all factors for all ignition points would be combined to produce a distribution of fire behaviors each summing to the total burn probability at each point on the landscape. The brute-force calculation of this distribution is probably computationally and practically impossible because of the nearly infinite sequences of weather and ignition timing and location. Regardless of whether ecological or human values have conflicting or mutual responses to a given fire, the important theme for risk assessment is that wildfires are inevitable. the most important benefit of a risk assessment process may be to explicitly recognize the variable nature of fire behaviors and that social choices can be made for how to deal with their impacts, whether the impacts are on houses or on ecosystems. (Finney, 2005)1

1 Finney, M.A. 2005. The challenge of quantitative risk analysis for wildland fire. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 211, Issues 1-2, pp. 97-108. Relative Risk Assessments for Decision-Making Related to Uncharacteristic Wildfire

Human improvements at risk from wildfire , such as homes, structures and infrastructure (e.g., escape routes, municipal water supply structures, and major power and communication lines) are the primary consideration for determining treatment priorities, however community values, such as economy, watershed and wildlife habitat were also factored in this Plan.

Structures, infrastructure

The location and density of structures needing protection was determined through use of geospatial E911 addresses supplied by Catron County. With a small amount of editing to reflect some missed structures, the total addresses for the County was 2,863. These locations are shown on the E911 address map.

Values at Risk	Acres
Low	2,726,032
Moderate	1,235,491
High	475,969
Table # 5

Other critical infrastructure identified for the plan were major power distribution lines and communication sites. These are shown on maps "Major Distribution Power Lines" and “Communications site map”. See Appendix Volume 3 Maps 15, 18

 

Economic values (business, industry)

Catron County is New Mexico's largest and most sparsely settled county, half of its land area set aside in three National Forests: Gila, Cibola, and Apache-Sitgreaves.  Another quarter of Catron County is in other Federal (mostly BLM) and State ownership. Catron County's economy is therefore very much government owned natural resource dependent, primarily based on cattle ranching, lumber, tourism, and recreation. 

The government – primarily the U.S. Forest Service - and agriculture are the county's two largest employment sectors. 

Livestock production accounts for most of the county's agricultural activity. Wildland fire threatens rangeland condition and improvements. While grazing capacity is being reduced because of densities of overstory vegetation in forest grazing allotments, catastrophic wildfire will destroy forage, fencing, water improvements and other associated infrastructure, further threatening livestock production, and therefore the economy of the whole county.

Sawmills and logging have been on a downward trend since the mid 1990s, however small diameter timber harvesting is on the upswing in the County. The San Francisco River Valley between Aragon and Glenwood is the primary agricultural region, though a small amount of food crops are grown.

Tourism and Recreation are based on the aesthetic and cultural resources of the county. Typical views in the north are pinyon/juniper woodlands interspersed with large open meadows. Surrounding these areas are numerous mountain peaks covered in ponderosa pine and mixed conifers. Open ranges, vast forest, panoramic views, and relative isolation all contribute to the aesthetic value of the area, which could be drastically reduced due to catastrophic-stand replacement wildfire.

Recreation in the County includes hunting and outfitting as well as hiking, bicycle touring, equestrian use, camping and some limited fishing. "Dark Skies" is an astronomy feature which is possible because of the lack of outdoor lighting at night and clear air. Few of the many archeological sites in the County are developed for the public, however they represent a value to science now and in the future, which catastrophic wildfire threatens.

Watershed And Wetland Resources

In spite of the aridity of the climate, the watersheds of Catron County supply water for itself as well as significant acre feet outside the county . Except for the undrained basins on the north, the San Augustin Plains, and a small area in the extreme eastern part of the county that is within the Rio Grande drainage system, all the remaining areas are west of the Continental Divide, and drain into the Colorado River drainage system. The two principal drainages in Catron County, the Gila and San Francisco rivers, are perennial throughout most of their course.

The Luna valley is in the headwaters of the San Francisco river, along with Aragon-Apache Creek area. The Tularosa River is a major tributary of the San Francisco River. Willow Creek and Indian Creek are considered the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Gila River. Both the San Francisco River and Little Colorado Watershed drain the area around Jewett Gap.

See Appendix Volume 3 Map 10