Creation of the Rio de Las Trampas Forest Council

In 2018, the Forest Stewards Guild (“Guild”) secured a small grant from the Rio Grande Water Fund to be administered by The Nature Conservancy. The goal of this grant was to explore the feasibility of forming a Forest Council in the Camino Real Ranger District, modeled after the Cerro Negro Forest Council.

After hosting meetings with the community, talking with community leaders, and refining the geographic scope of the council, the Rio de Las Trampas Forest Council was officially formed in the Spring of 2019.

Shortly thereafter, the Guild, along with the newly formed Rio de Las Trampas Forest Council, received a second grant from the Rio Grande Water Fund to implement a community forest stewardship program on 30 acres of Forest Service land. Thinning in the leñero tradition commenced in fall 2019 and, after a few delays in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, is drawing close to completion.