Grant Soil & Water Conservation District

09/19/2026

09/17/2026

The color of your soil can tell you information about its health, as well as the health of the ecosystem.

Variability in soil color can explain the physical properties, mineral content, and many more characteristics. The Munsell Soil Color Book is a tool that soil scientists can use to determine not just the color of a soil, but compaction, drainage, or organic matter content. A healthy soil will have a topsoil layer that is darker and gradually lightens the deeper you go. If the soil has very little change in color between the topsoil and subsoil, it is a sign that you have poor soil health. Also, when soils are well-drained, they are often brown or red due to oxidation within the soil. When soils are poorly drained, they are often black or grey.

Soil analysis can show us how an area has responded to previous use, or if it can continue to support the current management. What does your soil tell you?

Photo: Indiana NRCS, Soil Pit Station, 2025.

09/17/2026

Every acre counts.

In a new study, New Mexico Highlands University and New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute researchers examined how effective forest treatments were on small parcels (10 acres or less) within the Hermit's Peak-Calf Canyon burned area. What they found: Even small treatments made a significant impact on how fire behaved on those lands.

For small acreage landowners, the message is clear: The work you do matters.

For land managers, this means treatments can be even more micro-targeted to high-risk areas. For New Mexico as a whole, this means every project counts as another meaningful step toward more resilient landscapes.

📰Read the research: nmfwri.org/news/no-fuel-treatment-too-small

09/03/2026

After the 1996 Dome Fire burned through the Jemez Mountains, trees started to come back.

Then in 2000, a larger fire, the Cerro Grande, ripped through the scar of the Dome Fire. Then in 2011, a much larger fire, the Las Conchas, ripped through the scars of both fires.

Now, 30 years have passed since the Dome Fire, and the landscape of the burned areas has stubbornly remained brush fields.

According to a new paper, the area burned by high-severity fire in the past 30 years is unprecedented in five centuries.

Historically, frequent low-severity fires were a stabilizing force for the West’s forests. But by 1900, this pattern collapsed due to land use changes and fire exclusion.

High-severity fires are increasingly driving the loss of dry-conifer forest – with minimal regeneration.

If recent rates of these types of wildfires continue, half of modern dry-conifer forests will remain by 2055 in the Jemez Mountains.

📰 Read the research: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2513731123

📰 Read the story in NatGeo: nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-wildfires-transforming-forests-grassland

08/30/2026

08/30/2026

Small wings. Big job. 🦋🐝

Pollinators are easy to overlook, but they play an important role in the landscapes and agricultural systems we depend on.

Bees, butterflies, moths and other pollinators need healthy habitat too. Native flowering plants, grasses and shrubs can provide food, shelter and places to reproduce while contributing to diverse, resilient landscapes.

And conservation doesn’t have to happen on thousands of acres to matter. Farms, ranches, community spaces and our own backyards can all provide valuable habitat.

Plant native. Protect habitat. Give our pollinators a place to thrive.

Small changes on the landscape can add up to a BIG impact.

Learn more about conservation in New Mexico at www.nmacd.org.

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

08/27/2026