'Mantén Viva la Llama' - 'Keep the Flame Alive!'

Bandelier National Monument and Beyond: International Collaborations in Fire Ecology

Mantén Viva la Llama' -- 'Keep the Flame Alive!’ describes the theme of the Spanish Language Training Exchange (TREX) held near Santa Fe, New Mexico in October of 2019. The two week TREX program brings diverse fire practitioners from many Spanish speaking countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Spain, together to build skills in prescribed fire, fire management, and fire ecology.

TREX participants work together to collect surface fuel data using the Brown's line method for inventorying downed woody material. 

Credit: José Duce, The Nature Conservancy

On October 20th, TREX participants joined Bandelier National Monument’s Fire Ecology Program to discuss data collection and its role in the adaptive management process.

Participants worked with Hanna Davis, the Fire Ecology Program Field Crew Leader, to collect surface fuel data using the Brown’s line method for inventorying downed woody fuel.

An additional activity presented participants with a fire management scenario incorporating Fire Ecology vegetation and surface fuel data to determine if, when, and how to implement a prescribed fire.

On October 22nd and 23rd, twenty four TREX participants helped ignite and manage a prescribed fire on National Park Service lands in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

A TREX participant digs a hole to measure the litter and duff layer, using the Brown's line method for inventorying downed woody material.

Credit: José Duce, The Nature Conservancy

TREX participant Pablo Alcorta , a wildland firefighter from Patagonia, Argentina, described
his experience as “enriching.”

“Joining a professional wildland fire work team allowed us to gain and share knowledge and experiences and learn new processes and practices,” said Alcorta.

TREX participants take a break while holding the fireline on a prescribed fire in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Credit: Pablo Alcorta , S.P.L.I.F. El Bolsón

Four TREX participants joined Hanna Davis, the Fire Effects Monitor (FEMO) assigned to the prescribed fire, also an employee of Bandelier’s Fire Ecology Program, to help collect weather, smoke, and fire behavior data.

Working together in a small group provided an opportunity to discuss fire and resource management, fuel models, and fire ecology research from around the world.

The TREX Program is supported through a cooperative agreement between the Nature Conservancy, US Department of Agriculture, and Department of the Interior.

Contact: Laura Trader, Ecologist, Bandelier National Monument, [e-mail]