Volunteers plant seedlings within the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon burn scar

LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – Two years after the most destructive wildfire in state history, recovery efforts continue in northern New Mexico. The Nature Conservancy partnered with the Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance on a project in the charred forestland near Mora within the Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon burn scar.

They gathered more than 8,000 seedlings through donations and a contribution from New Mexico Highlands University. During Saturday’s planting session, volunteers placed nearly 400 ponderosa pine seedlings along some of the worst-burned mountainsides. The hope is that the seedlings will mature and generate more trees. More plantings are planned through early October to get as many trees into the ground as possible before the ground freezes.

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