A task force that came up with principles for forest restoration projects in New Mexico says the agreement will reduce conflicts and legal challenges over timber projects.
Land management agencies and conservation organizations announced the six-page agreement today after nearly a year of working together.
Forest thinning has been a contentious issue in New Mexico.
Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians, in particular, has repeatedly challenged Forest Service logging plans.
Environmentalists have fought the U-S Forest Service over such issues as caps on the diameter of trees that can be cut so as to preserve habitat for endangered species like the Mexican spotted owl.
Some conservationists have advocated prescribed burns over logging to thin forests.KVIA News
