Alamo Navajo IRMP
Project Summary
The Alamo Navajo Reservation is located directly north of the Gallinas Mountains on 63,000 acres of canyon country where flat-topped mesas and volcanic plugs punctuate the expansive landscape. Juniper and cholla dot the grasslands. To the south rises the pyramidal sierra Ladron, with the Rio Salado beyond. Looking west, the eye is irresistibly drawn to three matched peaks known as Los Tres Hermanos. Climb any rise here, and the view opens onto the vast desert plateau of central New Mexico. Named for Alamo springs, one of several springs that bring fertility to these variegated dessert grasslands, the Alamo Navajo Community live widely dispersed on the their reservation acres. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there is a population of 2,027.
The Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc. (ANSB), is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and the applicant and lead partner/fiscal agent for this Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP) Development Project. ANSB operates under resolutions from the Alamo Navajo Community and from the Navajo Tribe. ANSB was organized within the Alamo Navajo Chapter Community to establish and operate Federal, Tribal, and State programs that serve the people of Alamo under Contracts, Grants, or Cooperative or Joint Powers Agreements.
The development of an IRMP for the Alamo Navajo Chapter is important for consistent management of the Chapter's natural and cultural resources as well as a useful tool for consensus building and public outreach with tribal members. The phased IRMP process began in 2010 with a series of community outreach workshops, organized by resource topic including rangeland, water resources, woodlands and forests, roads, wildlife, etc. Phase 1 of the IRMP process was completed in May 2011. The second phase of the process includes meeting with tribal members and resource specialists to develop goals, objectives, and alternatives for future resource management. Phase 2 is scheduled to occur from July 2011 into 2012. Phase 3, which will include the development of the IRMP document, will likely take place in 2012. The project is being managed by the Alamo Navajo Natural Resources Department.
The Alamo Navajo Natural Resources Department began in July of 2008 with the award of a Collaborative Forest Restoration Program grant under the USDA, U.S. Forest Service. The grant allowed ANSB to hire a Natural Resources Manager, Mr. Bill Ferranti, who came on board with ANSB in December 2008. It is the vision of the Alamo Navajo Natural Resources Department
to train and educate an Alamo work force which will provide ecologically sound natural resource services and techniques for the Alamo Navajo community and other tribal, private, state and federal lands.
The Natural Resources Department is a critical piece in the development of economic stability and self-sufficiency of the Alamo community. A number of strategic goals have been established for the department, and several will be addressed as a result of receiving this Integrated Resource Management Plan Development Project.
1. Develop, train and implement an Alamo community, natural resource management work force.
2. Provide outreach and educational events to engage the Alamo Community in the development of resource management strategies and plan development.
3. Train via awareness and educational activities, the Alamo Navajo community in sound ecological land restoration techniques.
The Natural Resources Department has identified five areas for resource management: Water, Roads, Forest/Woodlands, Vegetation types, Grasslands, and Wildlife. These resources will be addressed in the IRMP. Experts from partnering agencies of U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, NM State Forestry, New Mexico Forest and Watershed Institute, BIA Natural Resource – Crownpoint Agency, and Navajo Nation Forestry will be engaged to assist in providing workshops and educational outreach events within the Alamo Community as part of the IRMP process. All agencies that have data and/or resource inventories or assessments will be contacted to coordinate and collaborate on resource information pertaining to Alamo Navajo Reservation lands. Utilizing collected data and information and the expertise of partnering agencies, the Alamo Community will increase awareness regarding the status and health of their land resources and will be engaged in discussions regarding the protection and management of these resources in order to build consensus towards the development of a management plan for natural resources on Alamo Navajo Reservation lands.
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