South Central Mountain Resource Conservation & Development Council

The national RC&D program was authorized by Congress with the passage of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962. Locally, the South Central Mountain RC&D received its nonprofit status in 1992 but has been serving Lincoln County since 1967. Led by a volunteer board, the SCM RC&D council helps people care for and protect their natural resources in a way that improves the local economy, environment and living standards. The program provides a way for people to work together in partnership to plan and carry out activities that will make their communities a better place in which to live. The SCM RC&D Council has a vast project area that covers 7.3 million acres or about 11,458 square miles of Lincoln and Otero Counties. The SCM RC&D plans and carries out activities that conserve natural resources, support economic development, and enhance the environment and standard of living in local communities. The Rural Community Forester program reduces hazardous fuels, decreases fire danger and improves the health of the watershed. The SCM RC&D is at the forefront of education and outreach efforts, working closely with the Smokey Bear Historic Park, conducting multiple public meetings to discuss Fire Wise principles as well as meeting personally with property owners to educate them on how to achieve a healthy forest and watershed. For the past decade, the SCM RC&D has worked closely with the NM Forestry Division to provide property assessments and thinning funds to mitigate the threat of wildfire. The council continues to support education efforts at the Smokey Bear Historic Park. Following the South Fork and Salt Fires in Ruidoso the Council is working closely with Lincoln County and the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) to implement the Emergency Watershed Protection program in the burn scar areas. The budget for this program currently stands at $53 million. The Smokey Bear Historical Park (SBHP or Park) was established in 1976 as the final resting place for Smokey Bear, the living symbol of wildfire prevention. Initially owned and operated solely by New Mexico State Parks (SPD), the Park came into a partnership between SPD and the New Mexico Forestry Division (FD) in an Intradepartmental Agreement (IDA) in 1990; the two state agencies entered into a new agreement in 2024 with SPD retaining ownership of the property and FD taking the lead as the managing entity. The Park is 3.121 acres including parking, a 2.7-acre botanical garden with Smokey’s gravesite, the New Mexico Fallen Wildland Firefighters Memorial, a small 3600 square foot museum, and xeriscape gardens. Serving between 15,000-20,000 guests annually, the Park’s mission is to provide guests with wildfire prevention information and tell Smokey Bear’s story, maintain displays and programs on fire ecology, forestry, natural resource conservation, and watershed protection and restoration. The Park also serves as a local resource for information on recreation opportunities for Lincoln and Otero Counties.