Category: Conservation Projects

Thanks to the Albuquerque Journal and to the Santa Fe Reporter for sharing lovely articles on our recent planting project along the Harvey Jones Channel in Corrales. Thanks also to PBS for the video below showing what implementation looks like (and showing neat aerial footage of the site!). Finally, thanks to Sarah Hurteau and The … Continue reading Harvey Jones Bioswale in the News

Santa Fe County, NM and Socorro County, NM In Fall 2021, we conducted Year 2 monitoring on two State Land Office parcels as part of an effort to better understand the impacts of land management practices and treatments in piñon-juniper systems, and to inform land management decisions in the future.   Piñon-juniper systems have historically been … Continue reading State Land Office Monitoring

Corrales, NM A bend in the swale: during planting, after planting, after water release. The Harvey Jones Bioswale is a green stormwater infrastructure project implemented as a collaboration between TNC (The Nature Conservancy), SSCAFCA (Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority), AMAFCA (Albuquerque Metro Arroyo Flood Control Authority ), MRGCD (Middle Rio Grande Conservation District), … Continue reading Harvey Jones Channel

Santa Fe County, NM This erosion control project is part of a larger restoration effort on private property in Santa Fe County. For this implementation, we worked closely alongside Jan-Willem Jansens of Ecotone, who designed the treatment (original design at right), as well as Paul Butt, Conservation Chair for the ECIA. Project goals include protecting … Continue reading Santa Fe County Erosion Control

Santa Fe County, NM Shortly after our installation, the beaver had already repaired the dam breach; the pond leveler maintains the new, lowered pond elevation. December 2021 installation of a pond leveling device (also called a Beaver Deceiver) to lower the water level above a beaver dam along the Santa Fe River at Calle Debra … Continue reading Santa Fe River Pond Leveler Installation

Galisteo Basin Preserve, NM Regrading slopes to capture high flows within rock run downs. This project in the Galisteo Basin Preserve follows the razing of an old homestead and aims to remediate the site's ecological function and facilitate recreational access to the area. The homestead was purchased by the Santa Fe Conservation Trust with the … Continue reading The Conservation Homestead

Chama, NM In November 2021, we built 8 postless BDAs as a demonstration project at Rancho Del Oso Pardo, a private ranch near Chama, NM. Structures were built using small diameter trees felled from nearby, overstocked slopes as well as rocks and sediments from adjacent to, and within the stream channel. BDA locations were chosen … Continue reading Rancho Del Oso Pardo – Upper Nabor Creek

Valles Caldera National Preserve, NM Rebuilding the boundary fence on the north side of the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) has been a multi-year effort. In 2021, we completely rebuilt about 1.25 miles of fenceline and cleared and repaired an additional 3 miles of fence that had been rebuilt over 2019 and 2020. From left: … Continue reading Valles Caldera Boundary Fence Repair

Corrales, NM, 2021 - present Verbesina seed sown in the Casa San Ysidro Heritage Field. The Heritage Field is an extension of Casa San Ysidro, an 18th-19th century Spanish Colonial home, which is managed by the Albuquerque Museum as a research center and public museum in Corrales, NM. The 2.38 acre field is protected from … Continue reading Casa San Ysidro Heritage Field

Albuquerque, NM, 2021 - present A section of the 7 acres seeded in June 2021 with a mix of crops grown as wildlife forage In a collaborative venture with Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District and the City of Albuquerque, we are working to convert historic agricultural fields in Candelaria Nature Preserve to wildlife habitat … Continue reading Candelaria Nature Preserve

July 2021 The RGR YCC crew has been hard a work on a fencing removal project in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The goal of this project is to remove roughly 30 miles of legacy cattle fence and support the re-wilding of a large section of the San Antonio Creek drainage. Abandoned cattle fencing poses … Continue reading Valles Caldera Fencing Removal

June 2021 The 2021 YCC crew’s season kicked off to a great start with Beaver Dam Analog (BDA) repair on San Antonio Creek in the Jemez Mountains. BDAs replicate the natural functions of beaver dams by raising the water table, slowing erosion, storing water, and promoting riparian vegetation growth. One of 29 BDAs spruced up … Continue reading San Antonio Creek BDA repairs

2020 Construction of Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) and Post Assisted Log Structures (PALS) along the Rio Chamita within the Sargent Wildlife Area.