Wildfire mitigation funding in Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District (a New Mexico special district covering most of Bernalillo County and part of southern Sandoval County)

80% of project cost (for project agreements signed August 2025 or later); $100 non-refundable assessment fee

Ciudad SWCD pays 80% of the cost of thinning and defensible-space work on private property in the East Mountains area; the landowner pays the remaining 20% plus a $100 non-refundable assessment fee. Applications are accepted year-round, on-the-ground work happens roughly October through April, and the district says the full process typically takes 6 months to over a year. Property must be inside Ciudad SWCD, the La Madera/San Pedro area of Coronado SWCD, or the Bernalillo County portion of Central Tri-County SWCD. The program only treats what its crews cut — it does not haul away pre-existing dead and downed fuels.

NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Cost-share, varies by practice and state

Pays part of the cost of conservation practices on private land, including forest-management and fuels-reduction work that lowers wildfire risk. This is the main federal program an individual landowner can apply to directly.

Who qualifies: Owners of non-industrial private forestland, agricultural producers, and Tribes. A written Forest Management Plan is required before financial assistance is approved. Available practices, funding pools and cutoff dates are set state by state.

• !Property must be non-industrial private forestland or agricultural land — a standard suburban lot generally will not qualify
• !A Forest Management Plan must be written for the property before assistance is approved
• !The agricultural-land route additionally requires a USDA Farm Service Agency farm/tract number, which most residential homeowners do not have
• !Application cutoffs are set per state; contact your local NRCS office for the current window