Search results

These Rapid Watershed Assessments were assembled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of NM. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging the development of rapid watershed assessments in order to increase the speed and efficiency generating information to guide conservation implementation, as well as the speed and efficiency of putting it into the hands of local decision makers. Background Information Rapid watershed assessments provide initial estimates of where conservation investments would best address the concerns of landowners, conservation districts, and other community organizations and stakeholders. These assessments help land-owners and local leaders set priorities and determine the best actions to achieve their goals. These assessments are conducted by watershed planning teams traveling through each watershed, meeting with landowners and conservation groups, inventorying agricultural areas, identifying conservation opportunities and current levels of resource management, and estimating impacts of these opportunities on the local priority resource concerns. Benefits of These Activities While these rapid assessments provide less detail and analysis than full-blown studies and plans, they do provide the benefits of NRCS locally-led planning in less time and at a reduced cost. The benefits include: Quick and inexpensive plans for setting priorities and taking action Providing a level of detail that is sufficient for identifying actions that can be taken with no further watershed-level studies or analyses Actions to be taken may require further Federal or State permits or ESA or NEPA analysis but these activities are part of standard requirements for use of best management practices (BMPs) and conservation systems Identifying where further detailed analyses or watershed studies are needed Plans address multiple objectives and concerns of landowners and communities Plans are based on established partnerships at the local and state levels Plans enable landowners and communities to decide on the best mix of NRCS programs that will meet their goals Plans include the full array of conservation program tools (i.e. cost-share practices, easements, technical assistance) http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/rwa/ These are not final and may be changed and edited in the future. If you have any questions, please call/email Kerri Mich, GIS Specialist, NRCS 505-761-4437 kerri.mich@nm.usda.gov

High Rolls, NM – Work has begun on the 1344-acre Two Goats Watershed Restoration Project south of the community of High Rolls in the Sacramento Mountains.

A manual prepared by the Center for Watershed Protection

An article that explains the assembly and use of a simple piezometer for groundwater and surface water levels, interactions and riparian assesment.

Part 2 of a video describing principles and methods of forest road and skid trail construction to minimize impacts to water quality.

- The Estancia Basin Watershed Health, Restoration and Monitoring Steering Committee (Steering Committee) oversees forest thinning projects and monitoring of forest and watershed health in the Estancia Basin in coordination with the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute. The primary goals of the Steering Committee are to improve forest health and create defensible space from wildfire. Funding for this project has been provided by the New Mexico Water Trust Board. - SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) was awarded a contract in 2007 to conduct monitoring for forest thinning effectiveness on the eastern slopes of the Manzano Mountains for the Steering Committee. SWCA finalized a comprehensive monitoring plan in March 2008 which is available online at the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute’s website (http://www.nmfwri.org/images/stories/pdfs/Estancia_Basin_Monitoring/ Estancia Basin Monitoring.pdf)—that provides background information, research questions, and a discussion of methods relative to forest thinning and monitoring. - The principal goals of forest and watershed monitoring are to determine the effectiveness of standard prescribed forest thinning on soils, hydrology, water yield and quality, vegetation, and wildlife. SWCA is responsible for planning and implementing forest thinning monitoring in order to evaluate these resources. - Data from permanent monitoring study sites provide information on rainfall, ambient and soil temperatures, soil moisture, soil surface profiles to assess erosion over time, soil surface stability, soil chemistry, bird and small mammal composition and relative abundance, and vegetation composition, structure, and cover.

Video presentations from the conference held October 18-19, 2016 at Utah State University. As climate changes, forests are being impacted by severe drought, longer fire seasons, and impressive insect epidemics. New approaches to landscape restoration are needed to cope with these disturbances. The 2016 Restoring the West Conference offered presentations by experts in climate science, landscape restoration, and forest ecology on techniques for this uncertain future, and gave examples where these techniques are working.

This power point presentation was delivered at the September 12, 2014 meeting of the NM Forest and Watershed Health Coordinating Group by the USFS. It outlined how the

Presentation on two TNC initiatives: the Rio Grande Water Fund and the proposed Burned Area Learning Network. Presented by Anne Bradley to the state Coordinating Group and NM Drought Task Force Watershed Management Subcommittee at their April 21, 2014 quarterly meeting.

Newsletter with event listings and articles by the Quivira Coaltion. (www.quiviracoalition.org)