Forest Thinning and Defensible Space

To request financial assistance from Santa Fe - Pojoaque SWCD for a forest thinning or a defensible space project:

1) Confirm your property falls within the boundaries of the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed (see the GSFFC map below).

2) Complete the Landowner Request for Assistance form below and mail to the address at the bottom of the form, or email to sfpswcd@gmail.com.

If you are considering requesting landowner assistance, the photo document below shows two images of an area recently thinned to basal areas between 40 and 60 square feet per acre. If you participate in a forest thinning project on your property, the after-treatment appearance of your forest will resemble the areas in the pictures shown here.

NMDA’s Healthy Soil Program 

!!NEW!!Applications are now open for SF-P SWCD's “Gateway to Soil Health campaign” under a NMDA Healthy Soil Program grant.

Seven individual applicants: landowners, farmers, gardeners, ranchers will be awarded up to $10,000 each for a program which includes

1.    Laboratory soil tests

2.    Soil microbiology tests

3.    In field soil assessment assisted by one of the District’s supervisors

4.    Funding will be provided for

a.    A cover crop mix suited for fall or spring sowing

b.    Compost – including delivery

c.    Compost additives such as vermicompost, Johnson-Su bioreactor material, or similar inoculant

Applicants should write to Mark Nelson, a District supervisor, at: nelson@biospheres.com and cc sfpswcd@gmail.com or by postal mail at the District's postal address on the home page of this website. 

Then you will be sent a form to complete describing your project and how it meets healthy soil criteria

If selected, all activities must be undertaken between the start date and 30 September 2026. !!NEW!!

!!NEW!! The online application for NMDA’s FY27 Healthy Soil Program grants opens January 16, 2026, and closes March 20, 2026, at 12 p.m. (noon) Mountain Time. Review webinar slides to prep for FY27 grant-application cycle !!NEW!!

Stay up to date on Healthy Soil Program happenings by subscribing to the program’s e-newsletter at Healthy Soil Program (nmsu.edu).