Jemez restoration gets up to $40 mil

JEMEZ SPRINGS, N.M. (AP) - A forest restoration project in the Jemez Mountains has been picked to receive up to $40 million over 10 years.

The Southwest Jemez Collaborative Restoration Program hopes to restore ecosystems, reduce wildfire risk, enhance fish and wildlife habitats and maintain and improve water quality. Officials say the grant could mean jobs for up to 500 full- and part-time workers.

Treatments will be performed across 100,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest — the Valles Caldera National Preserve, Bandelier National Monument and Jemez and Santa Clara Pueblos.

Smaller trees will be thinned on about 90,000 acres and prescribed fire used on 76,000 acres.

The grant program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.