General membership meetings normally are held at 6:00 pm on the first Tuesday of each month from April to October in the conference room at the Sandia Ranger Station in Tijeras. (No meetings are held November through March.) Meetings include brief reports from the FOSM President, Projects Chair, and Treasurer followed by an informative presentation by an invited speaker on a subject pertinent to our mission and of general interest.
Year-round monthly meetings were attempted for several years, but repeated weather cancellations eventually convinced FOSM’s board of directors to restrict meetings to April-October beginning in 2015.
All meetings were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, and all meetings in 2021 and 2022 were virtual using Zoom. Hybrid (in-person plus Zoom) meetings were attempted in 2023⏤a challenging and perhaps worthy experiment; however, they required a lot of extra work, were fraught with technical problems, and created a distraction for in-person participants⏤all for a small on-line audience. In-person-only meetings resumed in 2024.
The FOSM Vice-President is responsible for arranging speakers for these meetings striving for a mix of informative, educational, and entertaining topics each year including talks focused on enhancing our knowledge of like-minded organizations to help accomplish our mission of supporting the Forest Service.
Kerry Jones surveyed board members in early 2026 and compiled the prioritized list of topics for future meetings shown at right.
Summaries of prior meetings are available via the dropdown menu above or by clicking on a link at the bottom of this page. Records of meeting speakers go back to 2003 thanks to annual newsletters. The breadth of topics and quality of speakers over the years are truly impressive. Copies of most presentations are available for meetings since April 2021 (pdf format).
April 7, 2026 Membership Meeting
District Ranger Ken Born informed us about SRD priorities including the recently announced Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project as well as the Sandia Crest Recreation Area Renovation Project.
Ken clarified that, contrary to some media reports of a 2-year closure, access to the Crest area during these projects will be restricted during spring to fall in 2026 and to a smaller extent from spring to fall in 2027. Project work will cease during winter months allowing normal access to the area. Ken encouraged everyone to monitor the project webpage for latest information.
Program Abstract – Ken shared district, forest, and national priorities for the year – and how he sees the district and FOSM strengthening its own partnership to achieve those priorities in the months and years to come. Topping the priority list will be the recently announced Sandia Crest “Switchback” Hazard Tree and Fuel Reduction Project as well as the Sandia Crest Recreation Area Renovation Project. The need for the Sandia Ranger District to focus on the Crest site is for health and safety concerns, upholding agency special use permit requirements, hazardous fuels reduction, scenic integrity objectives – and to improve the overall recreation experience for visitors. More details can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola/newsroom/stories/sandia-crest-area-projects.
Speaker bio – Ken is the District Ranger of the Sandia Ranger District, a position he has held since January 2025 after being appointed as Acting District Ranger in October 2024. Previously, Ken worked at the US Forest Service’s Southwestern Regional Office in Albuquerque from 2018 to 2024 primarily serving as the region’s Recreation Special Uses Program Manager. In this role, he supported administration of commercial permits which authorize ski areas, resorts, marinas, outfitters and guides, and recreation events on National Forest System lands. He has more than 15 years of federal service and has also served in local government, spending his early career working as land use planner. He began his time with the Forest Service as the Forest Planner for the Tonto National Forest in Phoenix, AZ and has been a District Ranger previously on the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, from 2015-18. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental planning from Northern Arizona University, and a Master of Arts degree in public policy from Stony Brook University.
Presentation slides from the meeting in pdf format can be viewed by clicking below.
Prior-year meetings: 2003-2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025