Notices and Highlights

Everyone
– We love our mountains!
– Forest Service announces prescribed burn in Sulphur Canyon area
– Registration open for 21st Sandia Snowshoe Classic 2025
– Bernalillo County seeking volunteers for Tijeras Canyon Restoration Project
– Sandia Ranger District completes Tablazon prescribed fire
– Adopt-a-highway project completed
– Forest Service announces closure for thinning work at the Cedro 4 project area

Members
– Time to report October hours
– Paint crew leader needed
– Welcome our new members

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Supporting Sandia Ranger District Since 1997

Volunteer Opportunities
Awards and Recognition
History, Strategic Plan, and Board of Directors

We Love Our Mountains*

Whether you are a hiker, mountain biker, cross-country skier, trail runner, or you just enjoy being in the Sandias, you know that our mountains are one of nature’s special gifts.

Have you ever wondered what you could do to help protect our mountains? Do you want to learn more about the animals and plants you find there? Do you like to meet people who share your concern for the Sandia and Manzanita Mountains?

Welcome! Please explore our website to learn more about the goals and many activities of the Friends of the Sandia Mountains (FOSM). We likely have volunteer opportunities that match your interests and abilities.

*Technically, it’s Sandia Mountain (singular), but we often use the plural to recognize the existence of northern and southern peaks.

New to Albuquerque or just new to the Sandias? Explore the many recreational opportunities our mountains offer. Please carefully read the Safety section.

Please check out our La Luz Trail webpage if you are planning to hike this iconic but too often dangerous trail.

An easy way to get involved is to join Cibola Trail Rangers, an email group consisting of hikers, bikers, XC skiers, horsemen, etc., who frequent the trails in the Sandia Ranger District and are interested in exchanging information on trail conditions on both an immediate and continuing basis. The group includes FOSM members trained to correct reported problems.

Please report corrective actions as well as problems so the FOSM trail maintenance crew doesn’t hike to fix a problem that no longer exists.

Take the Tram to the Top⏤an Unforgettable Experience!

Sandia Peak Tramway makes the top of the mountain easily accessible and one-way hikes of La Luz Trail possible, but be sure to check their website before starting your journey.

Weather and Road Conditions

Fire Crews Prepare for Pile Burning on the Sandia Ranger District

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — November 8, 2024 — Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands fire crews are preparing to implement prescribed fire as early as November 13th on 34 acres of piles within the previously announced Sulphur unit of the Sandia Rx Fire Plan.

Fire managers are taking advantage of recent precipitation, snow covered ground, cooler temperatures, and relative humidity recoveries that creates suitable conditions for burning piled slash and woody debris from earlier forest restoration work.

The Sulphur pile burn area is in the Sandia east mountains, north of 1-40, west of NM-14 and south of NM-536. See map aftached. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding areas of Albuquerque, Tijeras, Edgewood and Moriarty, NM.

Registration is Open for the 21st Sandia Snowshoe Classic 2025!

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!” Our mountain is covered in fresh powder. It’s not too early to make plans for the 21st Sandia Snowshoe Classic to be held on January 18, 2025.

More details are available here.

Time to Report Volunteer Hours for October 2024

November 3, 2024 – From FOSM president Mike Madden:

All FOSM Volunteers:

We are starting a new Forest Service fiscal year, FY2025. Expect a monthly call for hours going forward. This is a call for your individual volunteer hours for the time period September 16 thru October 31, 2024.

*The weekly crew leaders (Bob, Sam, Laura) have already provided their crew’s hours by individual into our FY2025 FOSM hours tracker, so if you signed an attendance sheet, your hours are already covered.

*Basically, report any and all individual time spent in a FOSM activity which pertains to the District.

Guidelines for reporting hours can be found here.

Bernalillo County Seeking Volunteers for Tijeras Canyon Restoration Project

November 8, 2024 – From Steven Glass: Due to expected site conditions the TCRP volunteer workday scheduled for this Saturday, November 9th is cancelled. We still hope to be able to have the workday/continuing education event on Saturday, November 16th from 10-1. Sorry for any inconvenience. Hope to see you on the 16th.

November 1, 2024

Hello Everyone,
      Following is the schedule for final two Tijeras Creek Remediation Project Volunteer Workdays in 2024:
      (A.) The Date and time of the next TCRP Volunteer Workday: Saturday, November 9th from 10:00am – about 1:00pm.
      (B.) Final Scheduled TCRP Workday and Continuing Education event in 2024 to mark in your calendar: Saturday, November 16th. This subsequent event will also be from 10:00am – about 1:00pm. About the last hour of this November 16th event will be allocated to a site related hands-on continuing education activity led by Jim Brooks. Jim promises to share with participants some of his vast knowledge as it relates to developing a new path that contemplates a symbiotic relationship with green infrastructure. If you want to better understand what this means, I hope you will join us on the 16th and be part of the discussion.
      (C.) General TCRP Workday Information: Prior to participating in any event we will all be required to execute and deliver the current Bernalillo County TCRP Volunteer Liability and Waiver/Waiver, Release and Hold Harmless Agreement, a copy of which is attached for your reference.
If you attend an event, please remember your water, gloves, mask (if you so desire), sunscreen, bug spray, tools and closed toe shoes. It would also be helpful if you would print the Bernalillo County Volunteer Liability Waiver Agreement, bring it with you signed and dated the date of the event and deliver it to me at the start of the event. For those of you who may forget your signed form, I will have some of the forms available to be executed and delivered to me before the workday begins.
The TCRP site is located in Tijeras adjacent to the A. Montoya School Complex and there is a small parking area on the west end of the site.
   I currently expect the November 16th event will be the final 2024 TCRP volunteer workday. I personally want to thank everyone who has contributed to TCRP in 2024 or before. Your time, effort and support has been instrumental in turning TCRP into the special place it has become. I hope to see you at the site on November 9th and 16th.

Rick H.

Sandia Ranger District Completes Tablazon Prescribed Fire

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – November 1, 2024—Today, weather conditions remained favorable to successfully complete ignitions on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NG) Tablazon prescribed fire (Rx) on the Sandia Ranger District. Crews continued with ground ignitions to blackline fuels along control lines and burning of interior pockets of 107 acres on units 4 & 5. With yesterday and today’s operations, fire managers completed the 189 acres of prescribed fire operations on the Tablazon Project area.

With ignitions complete on the Tablazon prescribed fire project, fire crews will transition to a patrol and monitor plan until the fire is called out.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM —October 22, 2024—Pending favorable conditions, fire managers on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) may implement the previously announced Tablazon prescribed fire (RX) on the Sandia Ranger District as early as Tuesday, October 29, 2024.

Fire crews plan to burn approximately 207 acres, split into several different units in the Tablazon Canyon area, in the Manzanita Mountains. Tablazon is located south of HWY 333, south of Lower Pine trailhead and east of FSRD 462. Map attached. Visitors may be impacted by the Cedro, Bear Scat, Lower Pine, Tablazon and Coyote trails system. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding areas of Tijeras, Edgewood, Moriarty and Albuquerque.

Volunteers Accomplish Adopt-a-highway Project

October 15, 2024 – Steve Roholt writes:

Today, 14 FOSM volunteers participated in our semiannual trash pickup. This was a volunteer project for the NM Department of Transportation. Two main tasks were taken on.

• First, our required trash pickup. This was completed today.
• Second, brushing along both highway shoulders. The amount of brushing was impressive. The northern and southern 0.2 miles were completed today. The middle 0.6 mile was partially completed. We will have another project in the spring. The long-term goal is to provide sustainable visibility and prevent brush from encroaching on the highway right of way.

Volunteers were Tim Kirkpatrick, Sam Beard, Sim Cook, Dan Benton, Don Carnicom, Mike Madden, Cliff Giles, Rav Nicholson, Karen Greif, Anne Hickman, Jamey Browning, Pauline Ho, Rick Buss, and Steve Roholt. The weather was ideal.

Special thanks to founding FOSM members Don Carnicom and Sam Beard for helping out.

October 22, 2024 – Mike Madden writes:

Today 6 FOSM volunteers continued brushing where we left off a week ago, on our semi-annual Crest Road Adopt-A-Highway clean-up. Yesterday Sam Beard had prepared 6 small chainsaws at the Guard Station for today’s task of finishing the remaining quarter mile of densely overgrown brush along the guardrail between milepost 4 and 5. Sam Beard, Don Carnicom, Cliff Giles, Tim Kirkpatrick, Jamey Browning, and Mike Madden met at our AAH pullout at 10am. I estimated it would take two hours, finishing by noon. 4 certified sawyers handled pole saw & chainsaws, since the trees were up to 5″ in diameter! Our goal was to clear about 6 feet beyond the guardrail. Don used a brush cutter. Cliff used loppers. We finished the job at 11:55am, 5 minutes early! A beautiful day on the mountain… sunny, warm, no wind. Check-out our mile 4-5 handiwork the next time you’re heading up there.

Forest Service Announces Area Closure for Thinning Work at the Cedro 4 Project Area – North of Forest Road 462

Albuquerque, NM, September 27, 2024 – The Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands (NF&NGs) has issued an area closure order (Order 03-03-05-24-13) for the Cedro 4 Project Area north of Forest Road 462 on the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola NF&NGs, described below and shown on the attached map.

This Order shall be in effect from October 7, 2024, at 0600 through May 3, 2025 at 0600, unless rescinded.

The purpose of this Order is for the protection of public health and safety during mechanized thinning work in the Cedro 4 project area north of Forest Road 462 as shown on attached map.

Volunteer Opportunity – Paint Crew Leader

Thanks, Anne Hickman for your years of faithful service as leader of the paint crew. Anne has stepped down due to other commitments. Please use the form on the referenced pages if you would be interested in assuming this leadership position.

Welcome, New FOSM Members!

*Life sponsor