Landscape Management Practices on the Pueblo de San Ildefonso

The Pueblo de San Ildefonso is facing increased wildfire risk under climate change. Recent fires have not only burned culturally significant sites, but they have also resulted in a loss of watershed runoff retention, which has increased erosion and the transport of contaminated sediments and soils on Pueblo lands from the adjacent Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). A priority for the Pueblo is to ensure that wildfires are managed appropriately and, when large fires do occur, that effective measures are taken to control the aftermath of increased flooding and erosion. 

This project will build on the knowledge of elders and the community to develop a study plan (or study method) to evaluate different landscape management practices on the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, focusing on wildfire management and associated post-fire impacts, such as increased flooding and erosion. Developing this plan will include identifying the 2 highest priority concerns of the community, such as directly managing wildfires versus managing the aftermath of flooding and erosion. Throughout the development of the plan, the research team will engage Pueblo youth to build their capacity and interest in forest management and climate change adaptation.