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Draft resolution designating the Santa Fe Fireshed, under consideration by the Santa Fe City Council. Distributed at 12/18/15 Santa Fe Cohesive Strategy meeting.

Briefing paper on the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed Fuels Reduction Project. Distributed at 12/18/15 Santa Fe Cohesive Strategy meeting.

Briefing Paper on Santa Fe Watershed Protection: Looking Outside the Boundary

February 2015 Newsletter - IN THIS ISSUE: Identifying watersheds with high restoration potential; Mapping springs and spring-dependent species; How hotter dryer climate may lead to more tree deaths from fire; Spatial data for Southern Rockies; Upcoming webinar: Fire and climate history in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

This searchable bibliography currently contains 900+ references to technical reports and bulletins, articles, theses and dissertations, books, and proceedings that relate to watershed management research in the arid and semi-arid environment of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Vegetation types in this region include: mixed conifer and ponderosa pine forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands, grasslands, chaparral and semi-desert shrublands, and riparian ecosystems.

This Strategic Plan presents a background on planning activities carried out in the Otero Working Group during the years 2014–2016, facilitated by the SCMRC&D and the NMFWRI, as well as a strategy for the years 2017–2026. The strategy identifies the projects the OWG will undertake during this period.

During the third week of April 2010, the New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) Surface Hydrology and Watershed Management students, as supervised by, Dr. Craig Conely and Dr. Edward Martinez, studied the Mora River watershed by measuring flows and stream morphology characteristics. Largely, the Mora River watershed is located on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the northeastern, New Mexico and is approximately 1,476-mi². The Mora River flows eastward into the plains of New Mexico and drains into the Canadian and Arkansas rivers. Recharge to the Mora River watershed occurs by means of surface waters. Agricultural activities such as livestock watering and irrigation are primary uses for the waters and drinking water is typically gained via groundwater. During the 2-day study, present-day conditional status evaluation of the river took place. The Mora River reach, after analysis, appeared to be recovering from disturbance. Natural ecologic recovery of the river determination involved measuring cross sectional profiles, longitudinal profiles, and recording parameters such as natural meanders and point bar development along the stream reach.

"Examining the Effects of Responsible Forest Management on Watershed Health" Technical Symposium Videos Now Available Online - May 29th The symposium, co-hosted by SAF, the American Forest Foundation, the Environmental Law Institute, the National Alliance of Forest Owners, Plum Creek, the US Forest Service, and Southern Lumber Manufacturers Association, featured keynote speaker Honorable Benjamin H. Grumbles (President, Clean Water America Alliance), and administrative, legal, and scientific panels in exploring forest connections to the Clean Water Act. Videos of each of the panels, along with the keynote address, can be found at this link.

Report on ongoing efforts to change how we manage river flows to better mimic natural processes

Healthy intact watersheds provide many ecosystem services that are necessary for our social and economic well-being. These services include water filtration and storage, air filtration, carbon storage, nutrient cycling, soil formation, recreation, food and timber. Many of these services have not been monetized and therefore the economic contributions of healthy intact ecosystems are often under-valued when making land use decisions. Ecosystem services provided by healthy watersheds are difficult to replace and most often very expensive to engineer (see chart). An engineered ecosystem service replacement may only provide a fraction of the services provided by highly functioning natural systems.