HOUSE MEMORIAL 49

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Candy Spence Ezzell

A MEMORIAL

PROMOTING THE CONTINUED USE OF PRESCRIBED FIRE IN A SAFE AND CONTROLLED MANNER TO ENHANCE NATURAL LANDSCAPES AND TO SUPPORT NEW MEXICO AGRICULTURE.

     WHEREAS, fire is an environmental driver and an essential component in most New Mexico ecosystems; and

     WHEREAS, prescribed fire is the use of fire applied under specific conditions with appropriate planning; and

     WHEREAS, prescribed fire allows the fire to be confined to a specific area to accomplish planned land management objectives; and

     WHEREAS, ranchers must balance managing for forage, prescribed burning and mitigating wildfire; and

     WHEREAS, fire is an important tool used by the state agriculture industry to clear fields, clean ditches and clear debris; and

     WHEREAS, fire is a tool used by the state livestock industry to maintain open grasslands and improve forage quality; and

     WHEREAS, cyclic burning in New Mexico forests and woodlands promotes forest health; and

     WHEREAS, wildfires usually start during dry periods when excessive amounts of highly combustible materials have accumulated; and

     WHEREAS, wildfires often occur under extreme weather and fuel conditions, making them difficult to control and possibly detrimental to the ecosystem, as well as damaging desirable plants and magnifying drought conditions; and

     WHEREAS, prescribed fire can minimize the impacts and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires; and

     WHEREAS, prescribed fire both maintains and improves wildlife habitat and forage quality;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the continued use of prescribed fire in a safe and controlled manner to enhance natural landscapes and to support New Mexico agriculture be promoted; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of environment, the director of the New Mexico department of agriculture and the chair of the New Mexico prescribed fire council.

- 3 -