The 2024 edition of the annual FOSM newsletter is now available. FOSM co-founder Sam Beard serves as editor of the annual newsletter. Silke Bletzer helped with editing and publication again this year. The newsletter was distributed to all FOSM members as a pdf document.
Sam collects inputs from FOSM officers, project leaders, and other members then compiles a single document providing a comprehensive review of activities and notable events during the past fiscal year (October through September). He includes lots of photographs illustrating activities as well as lists of officers, board members, and new members joining during the year.
In the words of FOSM president Mike Madden, Thanks also goes to Sam Beard for assembling this Annual Newsletter, and to Silke Bletzer for formatting it. Sam has been producing it faithfully since 2003, and believe me, it’s a mountain of work! Back issues are found on our website. All the great work that was done by our volunteers over the past year is described by the respective leaders in the pages that follow. Please take the time to read it.
FOSM vice-president Cliff Giles added: Congratulations and thanks to Sam and Silke for another professionally crafted and impressively comprehensive Annual Newsletter. Impressive doesn’t do justice to the work described in the document—in terms of both quantity and quality. Thanks to all of you who volunteered throughout the year. By my calculations, FOSM efforts during the past fiscal year as reported in the newsletter supplemented the Sandia Ranger District workforce by approximately 5 full-time equivalent positions.
As reported in the newsletter, FOSM volunteers contributed over 9,000 hours of service in support of the Forest Service mission in fiscal year 2024. Weekly crew activities accounted for 6,600 of these hours. In addition, individuals reported another 2,573 hours of service. (Undoubtedly, lots of other individual efforts go unreported.) Using 1,880 hours per employee per year (allowing for holidays and vacation time), FOSM volunteer services equate to about 5 full-time equivalents (FTEs)⏤a substantial augmentation of the Sandia Ranger District workforce.
Copies of previous annual newsletters since 2007 are available in pdf format below.