N.M. Code R. § 20.11.21.18 Alternatives to Burning

• Library: New Mexico Administrative Code
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through Register Vol. 34, No. 24, December 19, 2023
• Citation: N.M. Code R. § 20.11.21.18
• Year: 2023

As required by Subsection C of 20SMOKE MANAGEMENT; PRESCRIBED BURNS; WILDLAND FIRE USE;WILDFIRES UNDER SUPRESSION20.11.21.15 NMAC, burners engaged in PB-II prescribed burns are required to consider the use of alternatives to burning, which include department-approved alternatives, as well as those listed in 20.11.21.18 NMAC. An effort will be made by the department to remove administrative barriers to the utilization of alternatives to burning.

A. Manual/handwork - Handwork involves picking up and moving limbs and brush, as well as cutting downed and standing materials using hand tools or chainsaws. Manual work involves lifting, cutting, and carrying forest materials, and is generally limited to materials of roughly nine inches or less in diameter. Larger materials can be handled, but efficiency, production rate and safety decrease rapidly as size increases. If the fuels requiring treatment exceed the nine-inch-diameter threshold, handwork is not a good option.

(1) Cut and scatter - Hand crews cut and scatter material to change the vertical and horizontal continuity of the fuel load. This technique increases the surface fuel load by redistributing ladder fuels onto the ground surface. It is appropriate where stand density is generally low and existing surface fuels are shallow.

(2) Pile - Cut material is piled redistributing the fuel load rather than reducing it. Piling can be used in denser stand conditions than scattering can, because the piles can be situated to avoid fuel-loading problems. Drawbacks to piling include: slower decomposition than when scattered, labor intensive and dense stand conditions can result in a high number of piles.

B. Mechanical treatments - Employ equipment as the primary means of modifying or removing fuels. Generally, treatment areas must be within one-quarter mile of a road and have slopes less than 40 percent.

(1) Pile - Cut material is piled redistributing the fuel load rather than reducing it.

(2) Fuel modification - Machinery is used to process the material into smaller pieces that can then be redistributed on the ground surface or removed from the site. Because materials processed in this fashion can be much more densely packed than materials that are scattered by hand or piled by hand, the available oxygen supply is reduced, thereby inhibiting spread of fire...