U.S. Forest Service Manages Expansive Woodlands
Published Jul 07, 2009
Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands cover 1.9 million acres.
In Albuquerque, more than 1,000 people work for the U.S. Forest Service. Most of them – approximately 750 – are headquartered at the three-building Albuquerque Service Center, which oversees the financial management and human resources sector of the USFS nationally.
“About six years ago, the Forest Service wanted to become more efficient with its fiscal payments and audit managing, so it decided to centralize its financial functions – and it centralized in Albuquerque,” says Don Bright, assistant director for forest vegetation management with the USFS Southwestern Regional Office in Albuquerque. “So, in essence, it is a Washington, D.C., federal office located in Albuquerque.”
Some federal workers transferred to Albuquerque from the nation’s capital to work at the center, but not nearly enough made the move to fill the staffing requirements because many employees were approaching retirement. “When those people retired, residents of Central New Mexico were hired,” Bright says. “There were several hundred people hired – all at relatively good-paying salaries. The Albuquerque Service Center has been very significant for the economy here, plus the three buildings where the employees work are all under lease.”
Monitoring Massive Land Holdings
In addition, the USFS Southwestern Regional Office, where Don Bright and about 200 other employees work, monitors the upkeep and treatment of the 11 national forests and three grasslands in New Mexico and Arizona. The region encompasses a massive 20.6 million acres across the two states, as well as one national grassland each in Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle.
Albuquerque is also home to the supervisory office of one of the USFS units in the southwestern region, the Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands.
“We provide technical advice and counsel to the 11 regional foresters and supervisors in New Mexico and Arizona,” says Dennis Dwyer, regional stewardship contracting coordinator with the Southwestern Regional Office. “Our office offers support and guidance for all natural resource functions, including forest vegetation management, range grazing, recreation, special uses, botany, wildlife and fishing, computer support, permits and contracting, and more.”
From his perspective in forest vegetation management, Bright says the regional office also monitors precipitation, for which the numbers can range from eight inches annually in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert to 35 inches a year in northern New Mexico.
“Our office tries to make sure that the beautiful forests, wild whitewater rivers, clear mountain streams, alpine peaks, canyons and colorful mesas in our total coverage area all remain as pristine as possible,” he says. “We are all about wildlife and a healthy outdoors.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Brian McCord
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