Pecos, NM– Pecos National Historical Park is planning to implement a prescribed burn project that will begin when conditions allow anytime from early November and through the end of winter. The pile burn project, encompassing approximately 10 acres, is located along Highway 63 between the park entrance road and the Village of Pecos within areas that have been previously thinned and where materials have been piled. The burn operation is expected to be completed in one day and is not expected to necessitate road closures. Implementation is dependent upon on weather and fuel conditions.
The purpose of this burn will be to reduce hazardous fuels and the chance for future high-intensity fire.
Smoke from the burn may be visible from Pecos, Rowe, I-25, and surrounding public lands. Smoke can linger a few days after the burn.
A final decision on whether to proceed with the prescribed burn will depend on multiple conditions, including the national wildland fire preparedness level and resource availability, fuel moisture levels, air quality and forecasted weather. The NPS will also take a risk-informed approach to managing prescribed fire during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prescribed fire is part of a science-based framework for managing pinyon-juniper forests in the park to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and allow low-intensity fire to play its natural role in a frequent-fire ecosystem. Every prescribed burn is designed to meet specific objectives and will be managed with firefighter and public safety as the first priority.
The NPS manages prescribed fires in compliance with New Mexico state regulations on air quality and smoke management. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) website. Information on the Forest Stewards Guild’s HEPA Filter Loan Program is available here.
All fire updates will be posted on the park’s website, Facebook page and New Mexico Fire Information website.
For more information about the park in general, contact Pecos NHP at (505) 757-7241 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/peco. You will also find our listings on the New Mexico True website (newmexico.org) and Tourism Santa Fe (santafe.org). Please like on us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PecosNHPnps or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pecos_nps).
From I-25 N: Take the Pecos/Glorieta Exit, #299. Left onto overpass, right onto Route 50; proceed on Route 50 for eight miles. At the village of Pecos, take a right at the four-way stop onto Route 63. In two miles, the park will be on your right. From I-25 S: Take the Rowe Exit, #307. Follow signs. From Highway 63, the park will be on your left.
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About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 NPS employees care for America’s 422 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Becky Latanich
Pecos National Historical Park
Chief of Interpretation and Education
PO Box 418
Pecos, NM 87552
(505)757-7210
Travel back in time as you enjoy a free horse-drawn wagon rides between the Visitor Center and the encampment field. The horse rides are a popular attraction, so be sure to arrive early!
Many thanks to park partners including the Friends of Pecos National Historical Park, Western National Parks Association, the Artillery Company of New Mexico, the 9th Texas Infantry Unit, 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers, the Civil War Ladies League and the 3rd NM Volunteers Living History Unit from Fort Union National Monument for their invaluable help with this event.
to take on this project. It should be mentioned that he did a biographical report on Manuel Chaves and his role in the Battle while in the 5th grade, Ryan is now going into the 10th grade. The original plan was to have Ryan and his fellow scouts complete this project in June or July, 2019.
One of their new programs is the Junior Ranger Ambassador program, where they select youth from across the country to advocate for kids becoming more involved with parks. Brian was selected due to his visits to over 160 NPS units and level of media attention that follows him and his blog site. Brian elected to choose Pecos NHP as his first Ambassador program. 
There are several requirements from the National Park Trust, and one of them includes Brian participating in a conservation project. At the time that we were asked to participate in Brian’s program, we only had one conservation project that was applicable to kids and this was the Civil War Monument site enhancement project. We had to quickly complete the required compliance and planning and develop a youth oriented conservation day, with Ryan’s help. Park staff assisted the project with procuring and installing a low rock wall and providing some supplies and material. Ryan organized and supervised the labor staff using scouts, leaders and Brian. Ryan developed a site plan, list of materials and a labor plan to accomplish the project by 1 PM that day. The goal was met with the hard work and dedication of youth and leaders.
Another requirement of the Junior Ranger Ambassador Day, is that the park and Brian must host fun and educational activities for local and visiting youth. With the cooperation of Brian and his family, the park suggested hosting a raptor education program to be conducted by the New Mexico Wildlife Center, and the New Mexico State Museum staff cooperated by providing a primitive hunting workshop, and traditional jewelry making demonstrations at the park visitor center. These were all accomplished with great success and with very little time for planning and coordinating. Additionally, a television program “Travels with Darley” requested to capture the conservation project along with an interpretive/on camera ranger presentation to be an upcoming episode on her program. The “Travels with Darley” program airs on PBS and Amazon Prime.
Ford, will lead an introductory night photography session for a limited number of participants. Participants should plan to bring their own manual mode-enabled cameras, tripods, red-bulb flashlights, and weather-appropriate clothing. Reservations are required and space is extremely limited; please call the visitor center at 505-757-7241 to make reservations. The class will cover basic methods of nighttime photography at the Pecos Room by the Visitor Center starting at 6:30 and will be followed by practice at the Church area around 7:30.
