Lordsburg City Council Adopts Community Forest Management Plan for Trees, Maintenance

The Lordsburg City Council adopted the Community Forest Management Plan on November 19, 2025, creating a practical guide for the city that outlines specific implementation strategies for the planting, care, and general management of the community forest. The Southwest New Mexico Community Forestry Network posted the final plan online, with the page updated March 21, 2026.

The plan is designed to play to the city's strengths, identify key challenges and opportunities, and chart a path toward achieving Lordsburg's goals for the development of both the urban forest and the city at large.

Lordsburg's desert environment shapes the plan's core priorities. The city has an arid desert climate and currently does much of its irrigation via ditches, making tree species selection and planting location of particular importance. The plan will focus on evaluating existing community space and school tree plantings and developing maintenance and irrigation plans to continue to support and enhance these landscapes. Lordsburg has already been the recipient of three NM ReLeaf grants, used to plant trees near the elementary and high schools.

The plan also targets the downtown corridor. Among its priorities is identifying opportunities for landscaping in the downtown business and city and county government district.

Before final adoption, the Southwest New Mexico Community Forestry Network opened a public comment period on a draft version of the plan, asking residents to submit input by October 19. The process drew on bilingual community outreach designed to reach Lordsburg's full population. Information hubs were made available at the Library, Lordsburg Town Hall, and Hidalgo County Offices, with materials in Spanish and English; bilingual community surveys were deployed via the website and information hubs, with additional events available to meet community needs.

A broad coalition of local leaders and stakeholders is identified in the plan as part of the city's community leadership structure. That network includes the Lordsburg Mayor, Town Council, Town Clerk, Town Superintendent, Maintenance Manager, Hidalgo County Manager, and Hidalgo County Economic Development, as well as the Lordsburg Economic Advancement Project through the Chamber of Commerce, Lordsburg MainStreet, 4H, and the Hidalgo County Museum. Tree care, according to the plan, is performed by the Public Works and Facility Maintenance Director.

Funding for the project came through federal conservation programs. The project was supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, in partnership with Western New Mexico University.

The final plan is available through the Southwest New Mexico Community Forestry Network at swnmforestry.org, where community forestry survey results documenting resident priorities on trees, green spaces, and future forestry projects are also posted.