Hidden Lake Property Owners Association

Located near the Moreno Valley of Northern New Mexico

For rainfall/snowfall and temperature updates for the past week go to "News and Announcements"

A note about logging in

If a window pops up asking for a password, you can close or cancel the window and access everything in the site except the Members Only section. The log-in request may continue to pop up. However, if you are a property owner, you may go to the Members Only Section and register. Then you will be able to log-in and eliminate the continued log-in requests.

Listed below are some of the most recent postings on the website

We are looking for a new Webmaster for this website. If you are a property owner and are interested in the job, please contact the current webmaster.

Posted November 16, 2011

Lake Committee Report

Hello Everyone. My name is John Adamick and I am the current chairman of the Lake Committee. The committee members and I have initiated a monthly web report to keep property owners informed on the status of the lake and to attempt to answer any questions that you may have.

The latest information from the Lake Committee can now be found by clicking the "Lake Committee" button to the left.

New report available for viewing: November Lake Committee Report 2011

Posted August 4, 2011

Chipper Day 2011

Many thanks to all who helped out!

Posted May 21, 2011

Hidden Lake Development Enthusiastically Celebrates 6^th Anniversary of Participation in

National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Program

Posted November 11, 2010

The Angel Fire Sustainability Committee is a volunteer organization governed by the Council of the Village of Angel Fire. Its mission, simply put, is to educate, motivate, and enable the community to keep its footprint green. They also seek to provide resources to ensure high levels of recycling, sustainable business practices, and commitment to Angel Fire’s natural beauty. For more information, check out their new website.

Hidden Lake 2010 Chipper Day a Success

Posted August 7, 2010

In spite of threatening dark rain clouds in the afternoon on Thursday, 05 August, six members of the Hidden Lake community plus Greg Ogawa’s teenage nephew visiting from Bremerton, Washington, completed eight grueling hours of chipping 125 cubic yards of slash on four properties and the developments common area. With Skeeter Plotner, the pre-eminent operator of the Colfax County chipper the group turned the slash into piles o f chips which furthered the Hidden Lake Firewise certification for 2010. Several years ago the Colfax County Commission furthered wildfire mitigation by purchasing a large Vermeer chipper that can handle logs up to 10 inches in diameter. The chipper is provided to communities with an operator at no cost to the community. Hidden Lake has been a nationally recognized Firewise community for five years. To be certified as Firewise, a community must conduct educational programs, conduct at least an annual Firewise day and contribute a minimum of $2.00 per capita in Firewise activities – e.g. slash clean-up and disposal, thinning, tree trimming - either in cash or in-kind labor.

Submitted by Joe Stehling

Posted June 29, 2010

Hidden Lake Development Enthusiastically Celebrates 5^th Anniversary of Participation in National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise Program

Click here for details

Game camera photo of two mother elk with their calves near the lake. One is nursing.

Many thanks to John Adamick Lot 53 for submitting the picture!

Thank also go to Joe Stehling and Greg Ogawa for submitting some recent photos of the lake.

Click on the picture to go to the photo gallery to see all the posted pictures.

posted June 7, 2010

Subject: NFL Grant Info

We have had a delay in the grant process. The NM State Forestry lawyers decided that we cannot handle the funds and need a governmental entity to act as our fiscal agent.

We have coordinated with Colfax County Manager and the item is on the County Commissioners agenda for next Tuesday, 8 June. I will be attending the meeting. I foresee no problems except to have our schedule completely hosed. Now I am hoping to at least get a forester on board and advertise for thinning contractors before the snow flies. Unless we have a late winter, I do not look forward to doing much actual work this year, except perhaps at Ute Park which has less snow.

Since we received over 150" of snow this past winter, perhaps this winter will be mild. I hope not as we (and my 250 seedlings) need the moisture.

I will advise as soon as we actually can do something productive.

NOTE to Community POCs. Please check addressees and advise those in your communities not listed here. I did not receive e-mails from some applicants.

Thanx.

Joe Stehling

Grantee-in-Chief

Posted February 27, 2010

Hello, everyone .......

Background:

As I hope you know, the Colfax County Coalition of Firewise Communities has won a grant for $300,000 to spread out across its communities to help POAs and property owners mitigate for wildfire by removing hazardous fuel. Its a 90/10 match --- this means that 90% of the cost will be paid with federal funds administered by the NM Forestry Service. The remaining 10% can be in like-kind, which means labor and expenses. We're fairly certain that like-kind need not be supplied solely by the property owner --- the community can ante up using chipper days, planning meetings, etc. The Contract between the governments and us New Mexicans will be with the CCCFC and the EMNRD/NMFS, and the priorities will be assigned a first come - first serve basis. Nearly half of the funds may already be bespoken, so quick action is required if you want to take advantage of this grant. We'll never see another 90/10 split again, so I urge you to consider it carefully.

Specific Actions that CCCFC will take on your behalf:

1. CCCFC has to hire a forester - the huge value here is in the upfront planning, the evaluation of contractors, and the supervision of the work over a two year time period.

2. CCCFC also has to hire the contractors. We currently foresee that this will be two types of vendor - machine based thinning, which is limited by terrain, and hand thinning, which is all boots-on-ground. Vendors will likely come from a NMFS recommendation list, will carry insurances, and will have required forestry training.

3. CCCFC handles the vendors and the money so that there is no additional hassle for the property owner. We reassure you that we will pay on an as-it-goes basis with a final percentage of payment withheld pending approval by our forester and CCCFC, (and by the property owner if present).

What's Required of You:

1. The number one thing to jump start the planning is to get your request for assistance in to Joe and me. This is a simple one page form - please send to Joe Stehling and cc: me. I attached both a Word 2008 format and a rich text format version.

2. To ensure your priority in the queue, you also have to complete a Practice Plan. This is a description of the work that you want done. It will be amended later when we have our forester on board, but you need to think through carefully what your needs are. It represents a commitment level for the process that assures the CCCFC you're on board. This form is also relatively simple(3 pages), especially compared to the grant submittal itself! I attached both a Word 2008 format and a rich text format version. We're in a big hurry for this one --- we need our RFAs and PPs together in three weeks for NMFS to verify our compliance. Without them, our operations may be delayed, and there is a short season for the work.

3. Later, when CCCFC has a general service agreement worked out with the NM Forestry Service, we'll ask each property owner to sign a contract with us. This is fundamental, because it allows CCCFC to put vendors onto your property.

4. If your boundaries and corners are not clearly marked, you may have to pay for corner point surveying. CCCFC does not want to become involved in any trespass actions between property owners, even tangentially. It may be possible to handle this with waivers from your neighbors instead of surveyors in the field.

Additional Things That Communities (PO Associations) Should Consider:

1. Most POAs hold easements around their subdivisions - and these easements can provide fuel and fire breaks to protect the entire development. POAs can contract with CCCFC just like a property owner can, and could discharge a greater responsibility to a community than just getting a scatter of lots thinned.

2. POAs could also engage their neighbors to get the other side of the fence cleared - maybe using the same vendors as CCCFC uses. None of the funds from our grant could go to help the neighbor, however.

What I Can Do Today To Help:

1. We can provide you with a filled out RFA - mine - as a go-by.

2. We can provide you with a couple of example Practice Plans. Reading through them will aid you in thinking about what you want, and in filling out your own PP.

Let me know also if there are any questions. We're very excited about the opportunities for our communities, and your help right now can get us on the road.

Thanks in advance for your immediate attention.

Scott Jones

This site has been established by the Hidden Lake Board of Directors for the Hidden Lake community as a way to keep everyone up to date on the latest news in Hidden Lake and the surrounding area.

The Members Only section is now operational. There you will be able to access our Directory, Budget, Meeting Minutes, the Road Committee Report, and other useful information. The Directory has been updated several times since it was mailed and is the most current version. Click on the "Members Only" link to register for access to the site. The information you provide will only be seen by the webmaster and is stored on a secure server. It may take a day or two for me to approve your access, but I will try to get to it as soon as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience, GP.

Our goal is to keep this web site constantly updated. If you have any suggestions, news, or announcements you would like to see here, contact the Webmaster, Guy Pierce

This site was updated on 11/16/2011

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