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
Attached below is our conservation overview presentation from the 2012 Conclave (2 MB pdf file). NM Trout Conservation Program ... Read More
March 8, 2012
The Valles Caldera Trust recently released their report to Congress, outlining its activities and progress in the management of the natural preserve. In spite of the devastating Las Conchas fire which limited access to the much of the areas in the preserve and forced cancellation of many events/activities, the Valles Caldera saw a 13% increase in visitation, and a 10.8% increase in overall revenue. Of particular interest to NMT is the report of a significant loss of the fish populations in some of the area creeks. The newly-begun Southwest Jemez Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, funded through USDA from a ... Read More
February 7, 2012
Ron Loehman, Conservation Chair Working Group Meeting: In November I attended a meeting of the Rio Grande Cutthroat Working Group. They meet quarterly to bring together representatives of public agencies and private organizations and who, by their mission statement, are "committed to improving the security of Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout (RGCT) in their historic range... to preserve the fish for present and future generations". As most of you know, the RGCT is the native trout in New Mexico in the Rio Grande, Pecos, and Canadian River watersheds and that it has been reduced to a tiny fraction of its original ... Read More
January 11, 2012
New Mexico Game and Fish Department (NMGFD) have been active in Winter stocking of rainbow and triploid rainbow trout. Over the past week alone, nearly 25,000 fish have been stocked in area lakes,ponds, ditches and streams. Over the past month, nearly 70,000 fish have been stocked. More on their website. As part of the planned restoration of the native Rio Grande cutthroat to the Costilla river basin, in August, NMGFD applied CFT Legumine (Rotenone) to Casias Creek, a tributary of Costilla Reservoir, to eliminate non-native fish species. Rotenone is a naturally occurring compound that is derived from the roots of a ... Read More
December 5, 2011
On Sunday, October 9, a NM Trout team finished installing a group of three interpretive panels along FR 376 above the Gilman Tunnels. The panels are very professional and describe the Jemez watershed and the need for users to act responsibly and to respect the river environment. New Mexico Trout donated several thousand dollars toward the design and fabrication of these and several other panels, and our logo is displayed prominently on them. Check them out the next time you are up on the Guadalupe, Cebolla, and las Vacas ... Read More
October 12, 2011
The East Fork is now back open to trout fishing, although on a very restricted basis. A maximum of 5 anglers can now fish instead of the previous 10. Obviously, fishing success is much more limited than pre-wildfire, but a 13" brown was caught last weekend. The trout remaining are feeding on terrestrials, hoppers and beetles with hoppers being the preferred fly. Water is extremely murky during and after rains. Best water quality can be found upstream from the shack. San Antonio fishing is closed for the rest of the season. <*))))>< M2 ... Read More
August 29, 2011
This is an update on what is happening at the Valles Caldera. The Preserve is open to the public for recreation with the exception of fishing and five hiking trails. The fish in the East Fork are still showing signs of stress from this summer’s drought, higher temperatures, and wildfire activity. To reduce the stressors on the fish, East Fork fishing will be closed through August 25th. We will reopen the East Fork to a reduced number of anglers (maximum of 5 instead of 10 anglers) on the weekends beginning August 26th. San Antonio fishing will be closed for the ... Read More
August 9, 2011