Forests Under Siege, Farmer's Markets Emerge from COVID-19 & the Housing Spectrum | 6.14.21

New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, which burned 156,000 acres of the Jemez Mountains. At the time, Las Conchas was the largest fire in New Mexico’s recorded history.

Here in New Mexico—and across the West—wildfire season is getting longer. Wildfires, bigger. And these trends will continue in our warming world. Between 1970 and 2020, New Mexico’s average annual temperature has risen by 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit—and forecasts show we’re in for more and more warming into the future.

But wildfires aren’t the only problem spurred by rising temperatures and drought, which have even more impacts on our forests, including insect infestations.

On this month’s episode of Our Land, we look at how climate change is altering New Mexico’s forests and what the future holds.

A 30-year veteran of the battle for affordable housing, Mike Loftin of Homewise talks with senior producer Matt Grubs about the ABQ Home for Life program. The effort by the city to attract new residents was born of work-from-home discoveries about the workforce. Loftin explains why it’s important to think holistically about housing costs.

This week, our crew also takes a trip to the Santa Fe Farmers Market to find out how growers are emerging from the pandemic. The shutdown’s impact has forced changes in how some growers do business, including innovations that seem here to stay in a post-pandemic world.

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nmif/message