District VI – Bernalillo

Address:

5105 Santa Fe Hills Blvd
Rio Rancho, NM 87144
Ph: 505-205-0343

The Bernalillo District serves eight of the state’s counties: Cibola, McKinley, Valencia, Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, Los Alamos and Santa Fe. Located in west-central New Mexico, the Bernalillo District totals 6.6 million acres. This consists of 160,000 acres of commercial forest, 1.54 million acres of piñon-juniper and bosque woodland, and 4.9 million acres of non-forest watershed. The district office is located off Highway 550 on Santa Fe Hills Blvd., approximately two miles north of the intersection at State Road 528 that goes through Rio Rancho.

Each year district staff assist hundreds of landowners and fire departments by providing field visits, written management plans, and partnership of forest conservation practices. These practices include thinning and tree planting projects, workshops on forest and watershed health, and fire training. Staff also review commercial harvesting on private lands to assure compliance with state harvesting regulations. Morre than 200 wildland fires occur annually on state and private lands within the district.

Lawrence.Crane@emnrd.nm.gov

LAWRENCE CRANE is the District Forester for the Bernalillo District. Lawrence has been with the Forestry Division since 2003, including working as the district’s Special Projects Forester for many years. In the District Forester role, he oversees multiple programs including fire, timber, stewardship, wildland-urban interface, and special projects. Lawrence also conducts environmental outreach efforts and leads mapping projects. and acts as the primary Line Officer and agency administrator for large fire incidents on all non-municipal non-federal lands within the Bernalillo District boundaries. Lawrence has worked for the Forest Service on the Bridger Teton National Forest, Duke City Lumber Company, and Rio Grande Forest Products. He is a 1984 graduate of Northern Arizona University with a degree in Forestry.  Lawrence loves to build with Lego, woodworking, and anything he can do with his family.

christine.lyons@emnrd.nm.gov

CHRISTINE LYONS is the Resource Mobilization Plan (RMP) Program Coordinator for the State of New Mexico, based out of the Bernalillo District. She started out as an AD firefighter with the Bernalillo District in the Spring of 2012, working her way up to Assistant Fire Management Officer before taking the position of RMP Coordinator.

kevin.pacheco@emnrd.nm.gov

KEVIN PACHECO is the Bernalillo District Fire Management Officer. He is responsible for fire prevention planning, wildland fire suppression, coordinating fire training courses, and managing the district’s suppression resources. Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in wildland fire management and prescribed fire. Kevin works closely with local governments and rural fire departments with acquiring funding for firefighting equipment and participates in many other projects. Kevin is from Ribera and started his career more than 10 years ago with the Forest Service and has served in a variety of different capacities. From Hotshot Crews to Engine crews and everything in between.

Araceli.Lopez-Binder@emnrd.nm.gov

ARACELI LOPEZ-BINDER is the Project Forester based out of the Bernalillo District office. Araceli was born and raised in New Mexico. She went to Colorado State University to get a degree in Forest Management and worked for the US Forest Service before joining the division in 2022.  In her current position, Araceli provides technical assistance to landowners, writes forest management plans, and manages thinning projects in ponderosa, pinon, and juniper, along with invasive tree removal projects in the bosque.

eugenio.padilla@emnrd.nm.gov

EUGENIO PADILLA is the Special Projects Forester (Project and Urban Forester) for the Socorro District, who joined the team in May of 2023. Eugenio is a New Mexico native born and raised in Carnuel, NM. He received a forestry degree from New Mexico Highlands University in 2021. In his position, Eugenio is tasked with forest management, urban and community forestry program projects. He will provide technical guidance and educational outreach to Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) communities, as well as write stewardships, conduct inventory inspections and provide technical assistance to landowners/managers.

marcos.montoya@emnrd.nm.gov

MARCOS MONTOYA joined the Bernalillo District Fire program as a dedicated Engine Boss after serving the Forestry Division as an Administratively Determined firefighter since 2016.  Marcos assists the District FMO with managing the AD fire program at the Bernalillo District and ensures all wildland fire engines and associated equipment will be ready for emergency wildland fire response at a moment’s notice.  Marcos was born and raised in Albuquerque and his local knowledge and dedication to protecting New Mexico state and private lands has made him an asset to the District and the Forestry Division.

kameron.bowers@emnrd.nm.gov

KAMERON BOWERS is the new Admin Management Officer for the Bernalillo District. He is responsible for the purchasing of all office and fire related goods/services, payment of those goods, payroll, WEX reports, P-cards, and Petty cash. Kameron recently graduated from Eastern New Mexico University with his Business degree and will be getting married in September of 2024. Although he is still very new joining the team in late October of 2023, Kameron plans to assist Bernalillo district however he can while gaining invaluable experience and connections along the way.