Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that New Mexico will receive a $2.4 million grant for a forest restoration project in the northern part of the state.

Funding was awarded through the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, which Bingaman authored, and will benefit the Southwest Jemez Mountains Restoration Initiative. The Southwest Jemez Mountains area is 210,000 acres, most of which is divided between the Santa Fe National Forest and the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The project is focused on improving forest and watershed health and reducing the risk of severe wildfires.

"Forest restoration is an important investment in our state's public lands and is a critical tool to protect and improve our water supply and reduce the risks from wildfires," Bingaman said. "This funding will help improve the health of the Jemez Mountains area, while also creating jobs for New Mexicans."

Bingaman's 2009 law authorizes funding for landscape-scale forest restoration projects that cover 50,000 acres or more of National Forest and other lands. Competitive funding is awarded through the program to restoration projects that are developed collaboratively in local communities. In 2010, the first year of the program, the 10 projects selected through a national competition reduced forest fuels and wildfire risk on nearly 155,000 acres, created an estimated 1,550 jobs, generated approximately $59.5 million in labor income, and produced more than 535,000 tons of woody biomass for bio-energy production.