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ECIA’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan 

For years, the Eldorado community has discussed concerns about the risks of wildfire, flood, and erosion. Inadequate data and many perceptions have led to disagreements and practically no action for the protection of the wider community. Yet, rated as a high-risk community by the New Mexico Forestry Division’s “2023 Communities at Risk Assessment Plan,” Eldorado and surrounding areas are deemed vulnerable to destructive wildfires and the subsequent erosion and flooding. The ECIA Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) seeks to unite the Eldorado community, surrounding neighborhoods, landowners, and public land management agencies around priorities for fire risk reduction, flood and erosion risk reduction, and preparedness for wildfire, flooding, and erosion.

Photo provided by FAC New Mexico Learning Network.

Nov. 9th CWPP Stakeholder Meeting Resources

FAQs

At risk or not at risk of wildfire?

Eldorado and its surrounding communities are located in an area that is prone to wildfire, flooding, and erosion. Such areas are known as a “Wildland-Urban Interface“ (WUI) zone. While much of Santa Fe County constitutes such a WUI landscape, Eldorado is vulnerable to fire because of considerable areas with weeds, grasses, shrubs, woodland, and forest in and around the subdivision and its immediately surrounding areas. This vegetation, especially when dead or dry, is highly flammable. The wind can blow embers over miles toward residential areas. The presence of thousands of homes, businesses, and infrastructure and the limited evacuation routes make the greater Eldorado area even more vulnerable. 

In recent years, small, localized fires, occasional flooding, wind exposure, a flammable surrounding landscape, and ongoing news about the impacts of drought and catastrophic wildfires in other locations around the Southwest have prompted the Board of the Eldorado Community Improvement Association (ECIA) as the area’s largest HOA to initiate a planning process to address the risks. This initiative takes place in the context of decades of fire suppression, a longer and drier fire season, and intense drought that have led to the increase of wildfire size and intensity in New Mexico. 

ECIA, its management contractor HOAMCO, the Santa Fe-Pojoaque Soil and Water Conservation District (SF-P SWCD), Allpoints GIS, and Ecotone Landscape Planning have joined together as the Project Management Team to design and develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for Eldorado. The Plan will outline details about fire risk, how residents and agencies can help reduce the risk, what to do in case of fire, and how to take precautions that reduce the impacts of wildfire, flooding, and erosion in the community.

What exactly is a Community Wildfire Protection Plan?

Coming out of the 2003 Healthy Forests Restoration Act, a CWPP is a document that outlines community-based wildland-urban interface planning and priorities. A CWPP gives local communities the ability to submit priorities and influence how to implement wildland-urban interface management, flood prevention, erosion control, hazardous fuel reduction projects and more all while reflecting the needs and values of the residents. Furthermore, a CWPP helps to provide recommendations for wildfire protection to residents and their homes, essential infrastructure, firefighters, and other community resources. The completed document not only allows different agencies who manage fire the ability to respond more efficiently and effectively, it gives communities the ability to apply for implementation grants to enact the approved management suggestions. 

Does the CWPP require me to do anything to my property?

A CWPP does not place any requirements or mandates on anyone. A CWPP is a planning document that provides baseline information, recommendations, and action priorities as a basis for funding proposals for fire and flooding management projects. 

Homeowners can use this document to learn about fire risk in the community and what voluntary actions to take to reduce risk to their properties and the surrounding landscape.

There is an existing Santa Fe County CWPP from 2020; why is ECIA creating another CWPP?

The greater Eldorado community has relied on general assessments and actions outlined in the 2020 Santa Fe County CWPP with little specificity for Eldorado. Yet, Eldorado is one of the largest among 27 high risk communities in Santa Fe County. A lack of detailed information, the complexities of the surrounding landscape, the high-risk category, and the population density create an urgency for the community to formulate its own CWPP.  The forthcoming 2025 Eldorado CWPP will clarify the 2020 Santa Fe County CWPP for the Eldorado community and its surrounding subdivisions by providing more precise details and coordination with the SF-P SWCD and county, state, and federal agencies. The 2025 Eldorado CWPP will provide detailed information that will likely support a future Santa Fe County CWPP update.

Who is in charge?

SF-P SWCD is the fiscal agent for ECIA’s CWPP initiative. These entities, ECIA’s consultants, and HOAMCO form the Project Management Team for the CWPP. Funding comes from the “New Mexico Counties 2024-2025 Wildfire Risk Reduction Program for Rural Communities” based on a federal appropriation from BLM. The New Mexico Forestry Division oversees the quality of the CWPP and is charged with providing ultimate approval of the plan. 

What are the goals of the Eldorado CWPP?

The CWPP and the plan development process will accomplish several goals, including: 

  • Improving community awareness and preparedness 
  • Strengthening collaboration and safety among all interested parties, service providers, and emergency services
  • Identifying strategies for fire risk reduction around homes
  • Identifying priority areas for fuel reduction in greenbelt areas and in the larger landscape of rangeland, woodlands, and forests
  • Identifying strategies for the reduction of flooding and erosion risks and damage
  • Educating community members and service providers about specific risks of pre- and post-fire flooding and erosion in the community 
How long does the Eldorado CWPP last?

The planning project began in July 2024 and will go until June 2025 when the Project Management Team submits a final draft to the SFP SWCD for approval and to the State Fire Planning Task Force for final endorsement. The Eldorado CWPP will provide recommendations that should ideally be implemented by 2030, after which the plan should be updated again.

Helpful Links
  • Fire Adapted New Mexico

https://facnm.org/

  • Forest Stewards Guild

https://foreststewardsguild.org/

  • Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition

https://www.santafefireshed.org/

  • High Country News, Is your community ready for a wildfire? (Wong, 2024)

https://www.hcn.org/articles/is-your-community-ready-for-a-wildfire/

  • New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute

https://nmfwri.org/

  • Santa Fe County Wildfire Protection Plan

https://www.santafecountynm.gov/fire/wildland#:~:text=The%20Santa%20Fe%20County%20Fire,facilitated%20valuable%20collaboration%20among%20stakeholders.

CWPP Map (Click to Enlarge)

Download the FAQs HERE

Have comments or questions about the CWPP (Community Wildfire Protection Plan)? Please complete the form below.

To verify you are a resident, please enter your street address here.

Funding for the CWPP has been provided by the New Mexico Association of Counties with  National Fire Plan funding through the Bureau of Land Management.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CWPP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
  • Attend the public CWPP Town Hall in March 2025, date to be announced
  • Attend scheduled field trips
  • Step forward to review and comment on the draft of the CWPP scheduled for publication in early 2025

The CWPP Project Management Team will keep ECIA members updated on the CWPP developments and send out notifications as we move forward.