Post-Fire Restoration Project Updates
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Following the South Fork, Blue 2, and Salt Fires, the Lincoln National Forest quickly assessed damage across federal lands, identifying serious impacts to ecosystems, infrastructure, and cultural sites. Based on the initial assessment, the Lincoln National Forest submitted funding proposals for post-fire restoration efforts to Congress in 2024. With the passage of the American Relief Act in December 2024, funding was appropriated to the Forest Service to support the post-fire restoration efforts. To execute the post-fire restoration effort, Lincoln National Forest put together a team of local Forest Service staff dedicated to accomplishing on-the-ground work for the next five years.
Just a little over a year into the five-year timeline, the Lincoln National Forest has not only initiated agreements with key partners, but also launched key recovery actions including initial hazard tree mitigation, cultural resource surveys, professional watershed assessments, flood mitigation initiatives, and evaluations of recreation sites, trails, roads, and bridges by experts. These early efforts blend short-term stabilization with long-term restoration, laying the groundwork for safe, efficient, and resilient recovery across the burned landscape.
Current Agreements
Our disaster recovery team uses cooperative, interagency, and grant agreements to streamline collaboration, expand capacity, and work efficiently across jurisdictions. These agreements help us:
- Leverage partner expertise: Formal partnerships bring in specialized crews, equipment, and local knowledge.
- Accelerate implementation: Pre-established roles and funding pathways reduce delays and keep projects moving.
- Expand restoration beyond Forest Service lands: Agreements support work on state, tribal, and private lands.
- Maintain accountability: Clear frameworks ensure transparency and progress.
Agreements are the backbone of coordinated recovery, turning shared goals into action and building a more resilient future.
The National Forest Foundation (NFF) and the Lincoln National Forest have launched a partnership to support post-fire recovery and restoration across southern New Mexico. This collaboration will guide the planning, design, implementation, and monitoring of forest and watershed projects, stabilizing burned areas, reducing flood risk, improving watershed health, and restoring recreation access.
Early priorities include developing a post-fire Watershed Restoration Action Plan, rebuilding trails and recreation sites, removing hazard trees, treating invasive species, and supporting reforestation efforts. In January 2026, the NFF hired a Lincoln National Forest Program Coordinator to help lead planning and community engagement on the ground.
Together, we’re investing in long-term, landscape-scale recovery, restoring the health, safety, and accessibility of public lands vital to New Mexico’s communities and ecosystems.
Our local Recovery Team and the National Forest Foundation meet for the first of many field visits, discussing restoration and recovery initiatives within the South Fork Burned Area.
The Lincoln National Forest is partnering with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) to improve and restore the Cedar Creek Trail System near Ruidoso. Through this agreement, IMBA is providing trail design expertise, planning support, and technical guidance to help rebuild sustainable, user-friendly trails impacted by recent wildfires. This collaboration supports long-term recreation access, enhances safety, and ensures the trail system meets the needs of both local riders and visiting outdoor enthusiasts.
The Lincoln National Forest has signed an agreement with Lincoln Country so they can support us for planning and repairing Monjeau Road, a key access route impacted by wildfire damage. Their efforts are helping restore safe passage for residents, visitors, and emergency responders, while also improving long-term access to recreation areas and Forest infrastructure. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to recovery and resilience across public lands and local communities.
In-Progress Post-Fire Recovery Projects
Hazard Tree Mitigation - Ongoing
On October 10, 2025, crews began the first round of hazard tree mitigation in the Blue 2 and South Fork burn areas of the Lincoln National Forest. This critical post‑fire recovery effort focused on high‑use zones to improve public safety and protect both Forest Service and adjacent landowner property. Crews removed standing dead trees that posed a risk of falling near roads, recreation sites, infrastructure, and other public areas.
That first round of work was successfully completed on October 19, 2025. Operations concentrated on Forest Service lands and rights‑of‑way, with felled trees left in place until the next phase of removal begins. In strategic locations, taller stumps were intentionally left behind to serve as natural trash racks, helping to slow and trap debris during runoff events. Similarly, the trunks of large trees were sometimes left unbucked in wash zones to reduce the movement of debris downstream. These early actions mark a key step in restoring safe access and preparing the landscape for long‑term recovery and resilience.
Phase 1 Hazard Tree Mitigation Efforts off Cedar Creek Drive.
The next round of hazard tree mitigation has begun. Starting back in January 2026, efforts to improve safety and support recovery across the burn scars continued. Work has focused on Oak Grove Campground, where removal of hazardous trees has been a critical step toward reopening the site for public use see the reopening news release here.
Oak Grove Campground before Post-Fire Recovery Hazard Tree Mitigation work.
Oak Grove Campground during Post-Fire Recovery Hazard Tree Mitigation Project.
Oak Grove Campground one week prior to opening in summer 2026.
In addition, crews worked along Buck Mountain Road, which provides access to vital communication towers. The removal of the remaining logs in these two project locations will continue into the months ahead.
Oak Grove Campground and Buck Mountain Road Hazard Tree Mitigation Project Map.
In July 2026, our crews completed layout for two large units in and around the Cedar Creek area by marking hazard trees scheduled for removal. This work includes broader landscape areas as well as local trail systems. Crews evaluated each tree based on size, species, habitat value, and its potential to become hazardous if left standing.
Cut tree marking taking place in and around Cedar Creek.
As a reminder, fuelwood may be harvested within 150 feet of open Forest Service roads with a valid Lincoln National Forest fuelwood permit. This includes areas identified in the Hazard Tree Mitigation Project. Permit holders are encouraged to follow all safety guidelines and check current road and access conditions before collecting wood.
The following photos show Cedar Creek Loop before and after hazard tree mitigation.
In conjunction with a large scale hazardous fuels removal project (see Post-fire Fuels Reduction - In Progress Below), additional hazard tree mitigation is set to begin this fall. All the hazardous trees that were marked back in July are now slated for cut and removal.
Hazard tree mitigation will include the cutting and removal of dead or dying trees along roads and around recreation sites, including the South Fork Campground, in an effort to restore safe access to the forest’s recreational opportunities.
Work Locations:
- Cedar Creek Road (88)
- Monjeau Road (117)
- Eagle Creek Road (127A)
- Bonito Road (107, 107C, & 107D)
- Philadelphia Canyon Road (598)
- Ski Run Road (Hwy 532)
- Oak Grove Campground
- South Fork Campground
- Perk Canyon Trailhead
For more information on this work please see our News Release: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/lincoln/newsroom/releases
Post-fire Flood Mitigation - In Progress
The Lincoln National Forest has started new flood‑mitigation initiative in areas damaged by the South Fork Fire. With help from the Forest Service’s National Stream and Aquatic Ecology Center and our partners at the National Forest Foundation and Rio Grande Return, crews will place large woody debris in several canyons to help slow water and reduce erosion during storms.
Starting in February, restoration work began in Perk Canyon, where approximately 200 natural structures were installed throughout the streambed and floodplain. This phase of the project is now complete.
In July, crews will begin work in Upper Cedar Creek Canyon. Unlike Perk Canyon, large equipment cannot be used here due to narrow channels and steep slopes, so all work will be completed by hand. Similar to the Perk Canyon project, crews will use dead standing trees, cutting and placing them within stream channels and floodplains to stabilize the area and support long‑term watershed recovery.
All work associated with this initiative will occur exclusively on National Forest System lands.
For more on this project see our News Release.
Rio Grande Return works with the Lincoln National Forest to place large logs within the stream bed in Perk to slow heavy flows before monsoon season.
Beginning October 21, 2026, the Lincoln National Forest has started a large scale fuels reduction project in conjunction with ongoing hazard tree mitigation work.
Fuels reduction work will include mastication or cutting of dead or dying trees within a 1,000-acre block of National Forest System land centered along Cedar Creek Drive near Ruidoso, New Mexico. While many dead and dying trees throughout the treatment block will be targeted for removal, the Forest Service will prioritize tree removal near trails, infrastructure, and neighboring private property. Larger trees in this project will be removed and stored for later sale as commercial timber, fuel wood or chipped for future soil cover applications.
As wood becomes available, the forest will provide additional updates and information for the public. To find more on fuel wood permits visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/lincoln/permits/fuelwood-permits
Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project Map for post-fire recovery work scheduled this fall 2026.
These restoration activities are an important step toward restoring long‑term health and safety of the forest.
One key example is the removal of dead or dying trees near the Cedar Creek Trail system ahead of planned trail restoration in 2027. Removing hazardous trees along these trails now not only provides safer working conditions for trail restoration crews but provides safer conditions for future trail users. This project is essential to ensuring that the Cedar Creek Trail system can be restored and reopened safely for public use.
This project is also preparing future reforestation areas by reducing hazards and removing debris that currently limit crew access and hinder seedling survivability. The treatment block near Cedar Creek has been designated as a 2028 reforestation site for this very reason. The wood chips generated from mastication also provides soil cover for barren areas, which can improve soil stability and reforestation success. By completing this essential groundwork now, the Forest Service can ensure safer working conditions for crews and significantly improve the long‑term success of reforestation efforts.
The Lincoln National Forest has officially completed the 2026 planting season! This marks the start of our five-year reforestation plan supporting long-term recovery across burned landscapes.
Through collaboration with the National Forest Foundation, the Forest procured and planted 40,000 seedlings within the Blue 2 Fire scar. Among these seedlings are nearly 100 “adopted” trees, each named by local residents and visitors who participated in the Smokey Bear Days booth celebrating the Forest’s reforestation efforts. Community members can follow the progress of their adopted seedlings online.
Reforestation is a priority in postfire recovery work because high intensity fires can leave forests unable to regenerate naturally due to limited surviving seed sources. These efforts help reestablish forest cover by planting adapted species, including ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, during August, when monsoon moisture will improve soil conditions and support seedling survival.
The Forest began work in the Blue 2 fire scar this year, because silvicultural analysis shows the Blue 2 Fire burned at low intensity and reduced dead and down fuels making for successful reforestation efforts. The five-year reforestation plan includes planting trees within the South Fork Fire scar in 2028 after fuels reduction activities are accomplished and soils on hill slopes stabilize.
Seedling cones decorated at Smokey Bear Days.
Crews work in the Blue 2 fire scar planting 40,000 seedlings during this 2026 reforestation effort.
Ongoing Road and Bridge Maintenance
Post-fire flooding has prompted ongoing evaluation and maintenance of key roads and bridges within the burned areas of the Lincoln National Forest. The local Lincoln National Forest engineering staff are actively grading surfaces, replacing damaged materials, and clearing debris to maintain safe and reliable access. These efforts are focused on supporting emergency personnel, restoration crews, and public users, and will continue as needed to ensure critical infrastructure remains functional throughout the recovery process.
Forest Road 127A before post-fire recovery maintenance work.
Forest Road 127A after post-fire recovery maintenance work.
The following photos show Bonito Bridge before and after dredging or removal of access soils and debris.
