- This event has passed.
Fire Mitigation Sangha Meeting

Fire Mitigation Sangha Meeting
Monday March 10 | 6:30 – 7:15pm | HYBRID
Join us right after the evening meditation, in the dining hall, or online at sit.mountaincloud.org with password: mountain22
Mountain Cloud’s Vision for 2025 includes turning towards our campus both in terms of practical caretaking, and in terms of deepening our relationship with the land through ecodharma. Fire Mitigation is an effort within larger vision of stewarding the land, and the non-human communities that we share it with. Our aim is to reduce risk of losing our precious facilities, while maintaining the integrity of our ground surface, preventing erosion, and protecting the natural habitat of others living on our 24 acres. We hope that our efforts in this matter can be a community effort, and that our friends and neighbors might gain the opportunity to learn and build skills through our process.
Mountain Cloud’s Fire Mitigation Committee invites you to join us for a brief discussion about our Fire Mitigation efforts to date, as well as plans for 2025. If you are interested in learning more about Fire Mitigation and what this means for our campus and community, please feel free to join us in person or online. We will also be discussing volunteer opportunities for those interested in helping!
Thank you for your care and support as we protect not only our precious sangha-built buildings, but also the communities of wildlife that share this land with us.
FAQ
The Fire Mitigation Committee is a Committee of the Board comprised of Board Members, Staff, and Sangha members including: Executive Director Sarah Giffin, Facilities Specialist John Juan Handelin, Sangha member (and fire mitigation professional) Laura McCarthy, and Sangha member (and fire mitigation professional) Brian Stampe. To reach out to this committee, email Sarah at sarah@mountaincloud.org. The committee is also greateful for the help and insight of earlier members including Peg Froelich, Jay Coghlan, adn Bill Bruce.
Work to Date
- 2 professional Fire Mitigation Assessments of the land
- Drafted Fire Emergency Plan
- Updating and Maintaining our relationship with the Hondo Fire Department
- Hardening of Cabins
- Installing necessary emergency signage at entryway
- Professional check of building watering system
- Targeted removal of recently downed trees (to prevent the attraction of beetle infestation)
- refreshed survey of property to clarify property lines
- Learning and discussion!
Future Plans
March & April:
- Professional Arborist will, with the guidance of our sangha group the Turtles, remove high-risk branches from within 0-5ft of our buildings, fire hydrant, and the heritage pine on our property.
- Professional Forester will, with the help of volunteers and the guidance of sangha group the Turtles, guide a process of clearing deadwood from the radius of 0-30ft from our buildings, fire hydrant, and heritage pine. This project may include the thoughtful removal of high-risk plants within 0-5ft of buildings.
- Committee will meet with a surficial geomorphologist to make plans for concurrent and/or longterm erosion mitigation in the 0-30 radius of these areas.
- Committee will finalize and shop around a call for proposals to fire mitigation specialists in the area, for a larger scale mitigation project to be done in the Fall. The proposal makes consideration for the protection of wild habitat on the land.
May & June:
- Erosion Mitigation TBD
- Trail Maintenance work
September – November:
- Larger-scale fire mitigation project
Want to learn more about what’s happening with Fire & Habitat in the Southwest? Browse below.
- https://research.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/products/multimedia/videos/evolution-thinking-notes-unexpected-fire-season
- https://treeswaterpeople.org/blog/collaborative-agreements-with-santa-fe-national-forest
- https://ancestrallands.org/
- https://firenetworks.org/ipbn/
- https://www.amahmutsunlandtrust.org/nls20
- https://www.nrfirescience.org/hot-topics/fire-traditional-knowledge
- https://nmfwri.org/news/restoring-a-culture-of-fire/
- https://www.stewardsofthesouthwest.org/ (upcoming event!!)
- https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/new-mexico/stories-in-new-mexico/americas-fire-fix/
- Date
- March 10, 2025
- Time
-
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm
- Event Category
- Community Events