Tree deaths across New Mexico tripled in 2025 – a sharp acceleration that the Santa Fe New Mexican attributed to drought, climate change, and insect infestations hitting the state’s forests.
The threefold increase marks a serious deterioration from prior years, though the report did not break out specific acreage figures or name the tree species hit hardest.
Drought has been squeezing New Mexico’s forests for years, leaving trees weakened and less able to fight off bark beetles and other insects that move in once a tree’s defenses drop. The combination isn’t new; what’s new, apparently, is how fast it’s moving.
Dead and dying trees also raise fire risk. Dry wood burns hotter and spreads faster, and New Mexico fire managers have spent recent years watching fuel loads climb across the northern mountains and the southern ranges alike.
The Santa Fe New Mexican’s report didn’t identify which state or federal agency tracked the mortality data, nor did it specify whether the tripling figure came from aerial surveys, ground assessments, or some combination of both. Those details weren’t available from the published report.
What the state plans to do about the die-off — and whether any emergency thinning or treatment programs are funded – wasn’t addressed in the information available.
Reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican. Read the original report.
