Reforestation -
Northern New Mexico
John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, NM.
Ponderosa pine saplings at the Forestry Research Center
The center is the largest supplier of seedlings in the southwestern U.S. — up to 300,000 per year.
Members of the Forest Stewards Guild Youth Group prepare to plant in the Las Conchas Fire burn scar.
Las Conchas Fire burn scar in the Santa Fe National Forest.
Mesh protective cages used to shield newly planted seedlings from wildlife and harsh conditions in New Mexico burn scars. The tubes create small pockets of protection as researchers and planting crews work to improve survival rates in post fire landscapes.
Sam Berry, Southwest Associate Director of The Forest Stewards Guild, in the field.
Forest Steward Guild worker in the Ute Park Fire scar.
Seven Cabins Fire outside of Capitan, NM in May 2026.
Chris Marsh, Research Assistant Professor at Earth Systems Ecology Lab University of New Mexico
Microclimate data loggers will be deployed at each planting site in April 23’ to record the temperatures/soil moisture/RH/light levels at the seedling scale.
New Mexico Reforestation Center groundbreaking in Mora, New Mexico. The Hermits Peak / Calf Canyon burn scar rises behind the future site of the center, after nearly engulfing the area during the largest wildfire in state history.
Andrei Toca surveys seedling survival and winter mortality in the Johnson Mesa burn scar, part of the long term effort to rebuild forests after the Hermits Peak / Calf Canyon fire. His work focuses on how drought stress, planting conditions, and microclimates affect whether young trees survive in one of the harshest post fire landscapes in New Mexico.
