BRECKENRIDGE - Governors from Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico signed a charter this week that will create ecological restoration institutes to help promote forest health.

The charter for the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes symbolizes a partnership between the three states to protect forests and prevent catastrophic fires. The institutes will be located at Colorado State University, Northern Arizona University and New Mexico Highlands University.

All three facilities will work together on forest ecology, restoration and management. The idea is for the universities to provide the best science possible to policy makers, said Northern Arizona University president John Haeger.

According to the charter, many land managers believe that forest restoration techniques such as thinning and burning help prevent unnatural fires, such as Arizona's 468,000-acre Rodeo-Chediski fire in 2002.

"We know, first-hand what happens when our forests are overgrown and neglected," Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said.

The charter was signed by Napolitano and Colorado Governor Bill Owens at the Western Governors' Association annual meeting at the Great Divide Lodge in Breckenridge.

The institutes were authorized by Congress last October and is eligible for $15 million in federal funds.



Vail, Colorado