Wildlife management planning: for New Mexico's native American lands

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Albuquerque Area, is responsible for fire management programs for >4.5 million acres of Native American trust lands on 24 reservations in New Mexico and S Colorado. An average 223 wildfires burn at least 2800 acres on these lands each year. The BIA has recently developed the Fire Planning/GIS Project. The data base supporting that project comprises data from the BIA Geographic Data Service Center, US Geological Survey 1:24 000 topographical maps, high-resolution satellite imagery, global positioning system point coverage, and fire information. The system allows fire management personnel to assess the relative risk of fire, potential damage to a variety of resources, and response time. -from Authors