Payson Verde River Ranch Project
Jim Paxon

Excerpt from Program:
"The Payson Verde River Ranch and the U.S. Forest Service are using holistic methods to reduce fuel on 2,300 acres in the Wildland Urban Interface, and to increase spring and creek flow recharge and reduce soil erosion. The project uses goats to reduce a variety of Chaparral brush types. One of the goats is collared with a GPS receiver and this data is combined with satellite data to create layered maps showing slopes by degree and direction, springs, wind direction, and a variety of other information useful for fire reduction and land restoration."

"Jim Paxon spent 34 years as a forester and firefighter in the U.S. Forest Service. He was a district ranger for 22 of those years, making decisions and working with communitities, permittees, and special interests on the ground. He was also a fire spokesman on the National Fire Teams, having worked such noteworthy fires as the Dude Fire in 1990 (where six firefighters perished), the Cerro Grande Fire in Los Alamos in 2000 and the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in Arizona's White Mountains in 2002. Since retirement in January 2003, Jim has opened a consulting company that deals with fire and land management issues. He also works with NBC-Channel 12 in Phoenix as a fire commentator and gives speeches on 'Living with Fire.' Jim and his wife Debbie live in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and have a cabin in Show Low, Arizona."