The carson national forest requires this mission essential agreement with the cooperator for wildfire risk reduction activities, including prescribed fire

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Region 3 (Southwestern Region), awarded Taos County a $123,092 cooperative agreement under the Good Neighbor Authority program (CFDA 10.691) effective September 18, 2025, through July 1, 2031. Under this mission-essential agreement, Taos County will supplement Carson National Forest prescribed fire operations by mobilizing local volunteer fire departments to support increased hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed burning activities. The agreement emphasizes cross-jurisdictional training and certification for wildfire response and prescribed fire operations while strengthening existing interagency relationships.

The primary outcomes of this cooperative agreement are twofold: operational support for forest and timber stand health improvement through hazardous fuels management, which reduces wildfire risk to neighboring rural communities, and capacity building within local volunteer fire organizations. By leveraging Taos County's resources and local volunteer fire department personnel, the agreement increases the pace and scale of restoration work on federal lands while enhancing the technical capability and coordination of regional fire response operations. The agreement reflects the Good Neighbor Authority program's structure of negotiated sole-source cooperative agreements between the Forest Service and eligible state and local government entities to conduct restoration services across jurisdictional boundaries.

Under this agreement, the cooperator's resources will supplement existing prescribed fire organizations, with local volunteer fire departments supporting increased implementation; providing cross-jurisdictional training and certification; and strengthening existing relationships in wildfire response and prescribed fire operations. This hazardous fuels project will improve forest and timber stand health, for future timber production, and reduce wildfire risk to neighboring rural communities.