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The EPA Climate Change and Water E-Newsletter features news and information about EPA and other federal activities related to climate change and water. Partner activities, as well as related events and publications, are also included.

This Western Governors' Drought Forum webinar explored the latest science on forest management practices that may increase water availability and add security to water portfolios. The moderator was Ken Pimlott, California State Forester and Director of CAL FIRE. Panelists included: Alan Hook, Project Manager, Santa Fe Municipal Watershed Management Plan and Water Resources Coordinator, City of Santa Fe; Marcos Robles, Conservation Science Specialist, The Nature Conservancy; Don Boucher, Project Manager, Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project, United States Forest Service.

This Landscape Restoration Strategy (LRS) was developed over seven months during 2014-2015 by the Taos Valley Watershed Coalition (TVWC). Coalition members manage or provide land use consultation on all of the adjoining jurisdictions within our focus area, which extends from the Rio Grande del Rancho on the south to the San Cristobal drainage on the north and also includes the Rio Fernando, Rio Pueblo, Rio Lucero, Rio Arroyo Seco, and Rio Hondo stream systems. Coalition members agree to focus on the goals of protecting, improving, and restoring the water quality, quantity, and ecological function of the forests and streams in the Rio Grande watershed within Taos County, to the benefit of both local and downstream water users. This LRS was developed by our membership to document our shared understanding of scientific data and community values, and to guide coordinated actions within our local watersheds.

WRRI Technical Completion Report 356 ABSTRACT - The transfer of water rights is an important institution used to stretch available water supplies to meet growing water demands. In the Lower Rio Grande Basin (LRGB), it is used to support sustained population and economic growth. Potential sellers are unsure of what price to charge for water rights, while buyers are unsure of what price to pay. This lack of information on water right prices creates an uncertain and unpredictable market, which jeopardizes the future of water rights to meet growing demands. Improved understanding of the economic forces influencing water rights prices will help buyers and sellers, adding vital information to support continued economic development of the region. Starting in the LRGB, this project has assembled actual verified water rights market data into a database that can be used to characterize the price of water rights. The database includes data from 1980 to 2007.

A New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources report on the Sacramento Mountains Hydrogeology Study, an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to understand the complex hydrology of the southern Sacramento Mountains. The project was conducted under the auspices of the bureau’s ongoing Aquifer Mapping Program, with the cooperation and funding of the Otero Soil and Water Conservation District. From NM Earth Matters, Winter 2011 issue. More information at: http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/water/

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Aerial view of the Rio Grande

Final Report to Ciudad SWCD, April 2015

from National Geographic News Watch, April 29, 2014