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State Teams Up With Mescalero Tribe For Restoration Project

  The State Forestry Division has teamed up with the Mescalero Apache Tribe to begin work on a 600-acre watershed restoration project in southern New Mexico.

The goal is to thin areas on the reservation to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and boost the health of the watershed.

The work is being funding with state severance tax dollars that were set aside during the last legislative session. In all, $6.2 million was approved for the treatment of thousands of acres in more than a dozen high-priority areas around the state.

The Mescalero project is expected to be complete in two years.

Crews will use equipment to mechanically clear overly dense stands of trees. Smaller diameter trees will be cut and scattered through the area to prevent erosion.

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