Similar to food banks, wood banks are grassroots, community-led efforts that provide free firewood to low-income families, typically in rural areas. In the Zuni Mountains, a majority Indigenous landscape where many households continue to rely on fuelwood for heating and cooking, there is a long history of community wood banks. The Zuni Mountains Collaborative, through a partnership between the Forest Stewards Guild, National Forest Foundation, US Forest Service, and several Navajo Chapters and community organizations has, since 2023, assessed communities’ fuelwood needs and capacities in wood processing, storage, and equipment, and sought to fill identified gaps. Thus far, these efforts have resulted in hundreds of truckloads of wood being delivered to communities, critical wood processing equipment being purchased and repaired, and improved coordination between wood banks and land managers, leading to increased access to wood.
Volunteer day at Tse'ii'ahi Community Center wood bank hub
Yet, even with multilateral support from nonprofits, federal agencies, and Tribes, wood banks still face an ongoing challenge to secure consistent funding. That’s where Alliance for Green Heat (AGH) - a 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes modern wood and pellet heating systems as low-carbon, sustainable, and affordable energy solutions - stepped in. AGH, backed by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding, offers wood bank assistance grants to bolster wood banks across the country. In 2025, two wood banks in the greater Zuni Mountains - Tse'ii'ahi (Standing Rock) Community Center and Bááháálí (Bread Springs) Navajo Chapter - were awarded AGH grants. Tse'ii'ahi Community Center and Bááháálí Chapter are utilizing AGH funds to hire workers and contractors to transport and process wood, and to outfit their wood banks with much-needed equipment such as chainsaws, wood splitters, moisture meters, personal protective equipment, first aid kids, fire extinguishers, fencing, and more. AGH funds also cover costs associated with hosting volunteer days, which is one way that wood banks process large quantities of wood without a large number of dedicated staff.
Community fuelwood deck in the Zuni Mountains
The primary benefit of all of this work lies in the critical resource that wood banks provide for community wellbeing, especially that of elders during New Mexico’s long winters. Tse'ii'ahi Community Center alone served more than 700 families last year and, collectively, Zuni Mountains wood banks provide wood for thousands of families each year. Moving forward, Tse'ii'ahi Community Center, Bááháálí Chapter, and other Zuni Mountains wood banks and wood bank hubs will seek to build further capacity through planning, training, and partnerships - like the one with Alliance for Green Heat - to help these efforts grow like trees.