Trees, Water & People Signs Two Collaborative Agreements with Santa Fe National Forest to Enhance Tri-Pueblo Coalition’s Approaches to Co-Stewardship of Ancestral Puebloan Lands

SANTA FE, N.M. July 29, 2024 – On July 24th, 2024, Trees, Water & People (TWP) signed two separate agreements with the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) to build upon successful collaborations between TWP, SFNF and local Pueblos on reforestation, watershed improvement and forest restoration within the Jemez Ranger District of SFNF. 

 TWP is a critical conservation organization that has been active in New Mexico for six years. Following a series of catastrophic wildfires in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico, TWP began collaborating with local centuries-old Native American Pueblos on the long-term restoration and stewardship of these disturbed landscapes. 

Since 2019, TWP has been engaged with the Tri-Pueblo Coalition (TPC) - Pueblos of Cochiti, Kewa and Jemez - on post-fire restoration efforts on Tribal-trust lands and ancestral (public) lands. Through their collective efforts and vision, the TPC became a 2022 grantee of the Network for Landscape Conservation - Catalyst Fund, where the TPC established the groundwork for TWP to execute these agreements with SFNF. 

TWP and the TPC will scale up their efforts on ancestral lands and expand their reach to more Native American Pueblo communities in New Mexico by channeling resources through their established network of NGOs and Tribal youth organizations in New Mexico. TWP and the TPC will also provide their expertise in Traditional Ecological Knowledge aspects of forest restoration,  hydrology, wildlife habitat, and community engagement. All current and future projects will be implemented within the Jemez Ranger District, ancestral lands to the TPC and other Pueblo communities. 

One agreement formalizes a partnership between TWP and SFNF to work collaboratively on critical post-fire restoration and climate resiliency projects. The other will allocate $125,000 in Indian Youth Service Corps funds from the Washington Office of the Forest Service, awarded to TWP and the TPC through a competitive process in April 2024. These funds will be used by TWP  to plan and implement reforestation activities with Native youth from TPC communities and the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps.

The agreements will take effect on October 1, 2024. 

“This public/nonprofit partnership with the Forest Service is a tremendous milestone for TWP and the TPC.  We look forward to expanding our capacity with the TPC and the Santa Fe National Forest on critical forest restoration and reforestation challenges in the Jemez Mountains,” says Trees, Water & People Executive Director Sebastian Africano. 

“I am pleased to sign these agreements to formalize the SF National Forest’s partnership with Trees, Water & People, an important and up and coming conservation organization. TWP is already performing significant work here in New Mexico with Native communities.  This agreement will augment our collective efforts in this regard,” says SFNF Supervisor Shaun Sanchez.