|
West |
Arizona |
California |
Colorado |
Idaho |
Montana |
New Mexico |
Nevada |
Oregon |
Utah |
Washington |
Wyoming
New Mexico Summary
Below you will find county-by-county maps and tables that illustrate the data in this study.
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| Click on chart for a larger version below. |
Our research found that:
- Of the 11 western states, New Mexico has the eighth largest area of undeveloped, forested private land bordering fire-prone public lands, and is also seventh among western states in the amount of forested land where homes have already been built next to public lands.
- New Mexico has over 600 square miles of forested private land that borders public lands, of which 83 percent has not yet been developed.
- Housing in New Mexico's wildland urban interface consumes 5.7 acres per person, compared to the 0.5 acres per person average on other western private lands.
- New Mexico has 24,899 residences in its wildland urban interface, of which 34 percent are seasonal homes or cabins.
- New Mexico ranks eighth among western states in the number of homes built in forested areas next to public wildlands, and fifth in the percentage of those homes that are only seasonally occupied.
In New Mexico, existing risk of wildfire (number of square miles of the wildland urban interface with homes now) is highest in the north-central and south-central parts of the state. With more than 3,746 homes spread across 28 square miles of wildland urban interface, Otero County has the highest existing risk of wildfire in the state. Throughout New Mexico, with the exception of the eastern part of the state, there remains high potential for future home construction in the 600 square miles of undeveloped, forested private lands adjacent to fire-prone public lands. Building homes in these high-risk areas would put lives and property in the path of wildfires.
Existing Risk Map - Click to Zoom
Yellow areas on the map illustrate existing development in fire-prone areas (forested areas adjacent public lands that have been developed); all other development is shown in red; public lands are shown in green.
New Mexico Summary Statistics |
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 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| West-Wide |
3,290.0 |
20,350.1 |
14.0% |
915,071 |
21.0% |
| New Mexico |
114.4 |
552.1 |
17.2% |
24,899 |
34.0% |
Top 10 Counties in New Mexico Ranked by Existing Risk
Counties are ranked by the number of square miles of developed land in the wildland interface |
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|
|
|
|
|
| Otero County |
New Mexico |
28.5 |
37.2 |
43.0% |
3,746 |
51.0% |
| Taos County |
New Mexico |
18.3 |
51.7 |
26.0% |
3,374 |
46.0% |
| Lincoln County |
New Mexico |
14.7 |
22.7 |
39.0% |
5,175 |
49.0% |
| San Miguel County |
New Mexico |
10.6 |
52.4 |
17.0% |
1,452 |
35.0% |
| Sandoval County |
New Mexico |
10.0 |
37.0 |
21.0% |
1,082 |
42.0% |
| Santa Fe County |
New Mexico |
6.2 |
10.5 |
37.0% |
1,865 |
10.0% |
| Rio Arriba County |
New Mexico |
6.0 |
67.0 |
8.0% |
1,483 |
15.0% |
| Bernalillo County |
New Mexico |
5.2 |
5.2 |
50.0% |
1,836 |
6.0% |
| Catron County |
New Mexico |
4.1 |
28.6 |
13.0% |
444 |
30.0% |
| Grant County |
New Mexico |
2.6 |
26.5 |
9.0% |
577 |
14.0% |
Top 10 Counties in New Mexico Ranked by Potential Risk
Counties are ranked by the number of square miles of undeveloped land in the wildland interface. |
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|
|
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| Rio Arriba County |
New Mexico |
6.0 |
67.0 |
8.0% |
1,483 |
15.0% |
| San Miguel County |
New Mexico |
10.6 |
52.4 |
17.0% |
1,452 |
35.0% |
| Taos County |
New Mexico |
18.3 |
51.7 |
26.0% |
3,374 |
46.0% |
| Sierra County |
New Mexico |
1.9 |
40.7 |
5.0% |
696 |
37.0% |
| Otero County |
New Mexico |
28.5 |
37.2 |
43.0% |
3,746 |
51.0% |
| Sandoval County |
New Mexico |
10.0 |
37.0 |
21.0% |
1,082 |
42.0% |
| Cibola County |
New Mexico |
0.2 |
34.2 |
1.0% |
127 |
45.0% |
| Catron County |
New Mexico |
4.1 |
28.6 |
13.0% |
444 |
30.0% |
| Grant County |
New Mexico |
2.6 |
26.5 |
9.0% |
577 |
14.0% |
| Lincoln County |
New Mexico |
14.7 |
22.7 |
39.0% |
5,175 |
49.0% |
Click on column headers to see all data in the West sorted by that column.
West |
Arizona |
California |
Colorado |
Idaho |
Montana |
New Mexico |
Nevada |
Oregon |
Utah |
Washington |
Wyoming
Headwaters Economics
Mail: P.O. Box 7059, Bozeman MT 59771
Deliveries: 810 N. Wallace Avenue, Suite B, Bozeman MT 59715
Ray Rasker Ph.D. 406.570.7044 | Ben
Alexander 406.599.7423 | Patty Gude 406.599.7425 | Jeff
van den Noort 406.599.1653
Mark Haggerty 406.570.5626 | Julia Haggerty Ph.D. 406.600.1766 | Yang-Yang Chen 406.570.8937
Banner photo is by Ray Rasker.
© 2007 Headwaters Economics Inc. all rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without prior consent.
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