Technical Field Tours

Tuesday, October 26 – Wednesday, October 27
Fee: $245 (Includes transportation, one nights lodging, one breakfast, two box lunches, one dinner, snacks and beverages)

T1 - SILVICULTURE/UTILIZATION/RECREATION - TWO DAY TOUR
DAY ONE:
Sustaining Vermejo Park’s Natural Resources / Western Wood Products Mill
Over 60% of Vermejo Park is comprised of classic southwestern Ponderosa Pine forest, thus making its restoration back to a healthy, sustainable landscape an important priority. Day one of this tour explores the restoration process starting with the thinning of abnormally thick stands, to making posts and poles, and as well as some sawlog trees of poor health and quality, and then visiting Western Wood Products which produces doweled wood products, which are uniform in shape and diameter for a broad range of uses.

Participants will spend the night at the Philmont Training Center which is the only national volunteer training center for the Boy Scouts of America. Evening activities will include a tour of the 1927 Villa Philmont, a presentation on the Visiting Forester Program and Dutch Oven cobblers.

DAY TWO:
Philmont Scout Ranch, a Boy Scout National High Adventure Base
Before returning to Albuquerque, participants visit the historic Philmont Scout Ranch, a Boy Scout National High Adventure Base, where 22,000 participants take part in twelve-day backpacking treks each summer. The tour includes a visit to the Philmont Logistic Center and the backcountry to view the interaction of forest practices and recreation including four timber treatments and the “Bearmuda Triangle” camping concept.

Wednesday, October 27
Fee: $85
Fees for the following tours include transportation, lunch, snacks and beverages

T2 - URBAN FORESTRY
Urban Watersheds & People
In the high desert Albuquerque region, the scarcity of water drives Urban Forestry projects. Participants will explore the “bosque”— the cottonwood-dominated, riverine forest that, along with the Rio Grande, bisects the Albuquerque community. The tour includes stops on the east and west banks, looking at both fuel management and fire restoration projects. In addition, participants will visit a large commercial nursery, an urban forest on a sandy mesa, and the University of New Mexico Arboretum. .

T3 - HUMAN DIMENSIONS THIS TOUR IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Human Dimensions of Forest and Range Management on the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP).
Participants will visit the Valles Caldera National Preserve, known as the "Yellowstone National Park of New Mexico", to learn of the natural and cultural history of this 1.25 million year old volcano. The tour will focus on how humans have used and managed this landscape for the last 10,000 years. In addition, participants will explore the issues faced by Preserve management and learn how science-based adaptive management is being used to direct management of natural and cultural resources.

T4 - WATER RESOURCES THIS TOUR IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Santa Fe Watershed Fuels and Forestry
Participants will visit the upper Santa Fe River watershed which is arguably the most at risk, high-profile municipal watershed in the southwestern U.S. The watershed provides vital ecosystem services (e.g. drinking water) to the Santa Fe community, but is under threat from natural hazards (e.g., fire and floods) associated with the wild land urban interface. Participants will view on-the-ground hazard reduction and forest restoration projects funded by a U.S. Congressional earmarks of seven million dollars.

Sunday, October 31
Fee: $85
(Fees for the following tours include transportation, lunch, snacks and beverages)

T5 - SILVICULTURE THIS TOUR IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Forest Restoration in Southwestern Ponderosa Pine
Participants will learn about the USDA Forest Service’s restoration strategy of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine stands. The tour will visit the Zuni Mountains, which are situated on the Continental Divide, in the Cibola National Forest. Tour stops will explore the all the different aspects of restoring Ponderosa pine stands including the resilience to wildfire and insects/disease disturbances, proper ecological functioning from frequent fires, and sustaining healthy wildlife habitat.
Note: Participants should bring hiking boots, hard hat, jacket and possibly rain gear. Walking will be less than one mile on up to 20 – 30% grade.

T6 - PINYON-JUNIPER MANAGEMENT
Management Alternatives for Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands
Participants will explore the management alternatives for Pinyon-Juniper – an unique ecosystem in the Southwest US. This tour visits the Santa Ana Pueblo where participants will observe woodland treatments designed for restoration, wildlife habitat improvement, and community wood products. The tour will stop at the Starfire Camp where participates will observe thinning and fire buffer treatments and the Cibola National Forest to observe woodland treatments, a Forest Inventory and Analysis plot and sampling scheme, and insect and disease ecology. The tour will also stop at the P & M Sign Company where juniper fiber is converted into signs and other products.

IMPORTANT: If each technical tour has not met the acceptable attendee total by Friday, September 10, 2010 they will be subject to cancellation. Attendees will be notified via email by September 13, 2010 only if a tour has been cancelled. To avoid unnecessary travel charges please delay making your flight arrangements until after September 13. SAF will not be held responsible for the reimbursement to any person(s) for any travel expenses made in connection with the tours in the event they are altered or cancelled.

Be prepared for inclement weather – warm clothing and rain gear may be needed.