Chips piled at multiple forest locations available for pick up
Silver City, NM, Aug. 8, 2025—The Gila National Forest has free wood chips available at numerous locations on the forest. Chip piles are located off of New Mexico Highway 15 at the Ben Lilly Memorial parking area north of Pinos Altos (just north of milepost 10), at the Meadow Creek Road turnout (Forest Road 149, just south of milepost 15), and the roadside pullout at Wildhorse Mesa (just south of milepost 22), as well as off of NM Highway 35 in the Celebration Campground area (Forest Road 88 at Skates Canyon, mile 18.5).
The chips are the result of trees, branches, and brush that were cut along roadsides for hazardous fuels reduction during the Trout Fire and are only available while the supply lasts. No permit is required.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
