by Ron Loehman, Conservation Chair Over the past several years I have been watching the progress of an example of natural riparian restoration on the lower Rio Guadalupe. The section in question is below the Gilman Tunnels and is characterized by a downcut stream channel with just a narrow band of willows along the banks that can provide shade to lower water temperature. Due to the downcutting, the area along the stream that was once flood plain now contains only upland plants such as Apache Plume, drought tolerant grasses, juniper, and Siberian elm. In spite of the apparently poor habitat ... Read More
November 21, 2012
Annual Comanche Creek Workshop Sponsored by the Quivira Coalition Friday August 10 -- Sunday August 12 Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest This year we will be working to restore a wet meadow on the upper reach of Grassy Creek, a tributary of Comanche Creek. We hope you can join Quivira Staff and our project restoration specialists Steve Carson and Craig Sponholtz for a summer weekend learning wet meadow monitoring and new restoration techniques that help restore health to degraded lands! The Comanche Creek watershed, situated in the Valle Vidal Unit of the Carson National Forest, was historically ... Read More
August 6, 2012
Help Rescue Brown Trout on the Upper Rio Cebolla What, Where, and Why: On August 7th staff from the US Forest Service and the NM Department of Game and Fish will shock the upper Rio Cebolla to remove brown trout that have gotten into a part of the stream that is designated for native Rio Grande Cutthroat trout. The brown trout outcompete the RG cutthroats and threaten the survival of a native trout population. The last time the stream was shocked, over 600 browns were removed from a one-mile stretch of the Cebolla above McKinney Pond and "banked", or tossed ... Read More
July 23, 2012
NM Trout Volunteers Completing Bollard Installation Over 20 dedicated New Mexico Trout volunteers took to the Jemez Saturday to continue our bollard installation work off Forest Road 376 boardering the Guadalupe River. The group also installed bollards about four miles further up just before where the Rio Cebolla turns under the upper culvert and into private property. Also installed was a large metal frame that will house informational signs similar to ones we installed in earlier projects. This project is key to protecting sensitive riparian areas from ATV abuse ... Read More
June 3, 2012
Recently introduced federal legislation, if passed by both houses of Congress, would establish a 236,000-acre conservation area on public lands in Taos and Río Arriba counties, a 13,420-acre "Cerro del Yuta Wilderness" in Taos County and an 8,000-acre "Río San Antonio Wilderness" in Río Arriba County. This resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-NM, and co-sponsored by Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-NM (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr1241). A complementary Senate bill was sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, and cosponsored by Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s667). The Río Grande del Norte National Conservation Area Establishment Act has ... Read More
April 5, 2012
by Ron Loehman, Conservation Chair The Southwest Jemez Mountains Landscape Restoration Project is a ten-year, $35 million collaboration among the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF), the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP), and the Jemez Pueblo "to restore sustainable ecological conditions on... approximately 210,000 acres in the Southwest Jemez Mountains". This project is of interest to NM Trout members because it includes the entire upper Jemez River watershed and the outcome will affect streams we care about, such as the East Fork, San Antonio, Cebolla, and Guadalupe. The SFNF is holding informational meetings on their part of the project, as required ... Read More
April 5, 2012
The Las Conchas fire put many of our normal conservation projects on hold. Below is a list of confirmed dates and projects. June 2 Annual NMT conservation barbeque. Extension of Rio Cebolla vehicle exclusion work, interpretive panel installation. July 14 Cattle fencing on the upper Rio Cebolla September 8 Repair/build cattle exclosure on Rio San Antonio just downstream of the Valles Caldera west boundary Projects awaiting confirmation:
- habitat improvement on the Rio de los Indios in the Valles Caldera
- help evaluate fire damage on the Rio del Oso, Peralta, and Capulin creeks
- help with identifying and GPS marking failing in-stream log ... Read More
March 8, 2012