This agreement establishes a collaborative, watershed focused effort with the cooperator to address extensive post fire damage from the 2025 trout and goose fires which together burned over 50,000…

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R3-Southwestern Region awarded a Cooperative Agreement totaling $610,000 to Grant Soil & Water Conservation District on August 5, 2026, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Prescribed Fire/Fire Recovery program (CFDA 10.716). The award funds rapid fenceline reconstruction and silt removal in dirt tanks across post-fire recovery areas in New Mexico, enabling permittees to resume livestock stocking and restore watershed function following the 2025 Trout and Goose fires, which burned over 50,000 acres and caused severe soil loss, erosion, stream channel degradation, and destruction of range infrastructure. The cooperative effort addresses priorities identified by the Forest Service and affected permittees following spring 2026 burned area response activities. The period of performance extends through August 3, 2036, with all work performed in New Mexico.

This agreement establishes a collaborative, watershed focused effort with the cooperator to address extensive post fire damage from the 2025 trout and goose fires which together burned over 50,000 acres and caused severe soil loss, erosion, stream channel degradation, and destruction of range infrastructure. Following additional flooding impacts, the forest service received burned area response funding in spring 2026 and worked with affected permittees to identify priority needs. To expedite recovery, this project is to coordinate rapid fenceline reconstruction and silt removal in dirt tanks, enabling users (permittees) to resume stocking more quickly and restoring essential watershed function.