Since 1998, Trees, Water & People has supported community-led programs that deliver lasting benefits for both people and the planet. We partner with Indigenous communities across the U.S. and Mesoamerica to restore ecosystems, strengthen livelihoods, and protect vital natural resources.

Since 2018, we have worked with the Pueblos of Kewa, Cochiti, and Jemez in New Mexico to restore ancestral forests, grazing lands, and riparian zones impacted by major fires and flooding over the past two decades.

Over the last 15 years, more than 100,000 acres have burned in the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. This devastation threatens the livelihoods of Indigenous communities and puts the water supply for more than one million people in Albuquerque and surrounding areas at risk.

By aligning cultural priorities with watershed health, we collaborate with the Pueblos to plant trees, collect seeds, expand capacity-building workshops, and design long-term restoration plans for critical waterways. This work not only regenerates fragile desert ecosystems but also helps ensure that the land—and the cultural sites it holds—are protected for generations to come.