•
Rio  Puerco
 WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?

 The Rio Puerco Watershed, located in West Central New
 Mexico, is the largest tributary to the middle Rio Grande
 basin. Covering nearly 7,350 square miles, it includes nine
 sub-watersheds that drain into portions of seven counties
 west of the greater Rio Grande Basin. Formerly lined with
 traditional villages, as well as extensive farm fields, the
 Rio Puerco was once the "breadbasket of New Mexico." It
 now receives worldwide notoriety as a severely impacted
 and degraded watershed due to the harmful impact of
 accelerated erosion. The river transports one of the
 world's highest average annual sediment
 concentrations, resulting in decreased water quality and
 agricultural yield.

 ENVIRONMENTAL  CHALLENGES

 The Targeted Watersheds Grant will focus on the following
 key challenges:

 • Excessive soil erosion that surpasses that of any other
   watershed in the country, yielding 1.36 acre-feet per
   square mile per year.

 • Historically poor land management practices, combined
   with dry weather that have led to significant alteration of
   stream formations and stream flow stability.
  "We can often work
     with simple tools
 and natural materials
      and still have a
   profound effect on
   stabilizing the local
 landscape. This land
    and its resources
     are sacred to all
         of us - tribal
       members and
      'city folk' alike."

  - Michael Coleman,
  Geoscientist for the
 State of New Mexico
         Environment
Department - Surface
Water Quality Bureau
RESTORATION
ACTIVITIES

Funding from the EPA's Targeted
Watersheds Grant Program will
enable the Rio Puerco
Management Committee (RPMC)
to implement its Watershed
Restoration Action Strategy.
RPMC is targeting restoration
areas in the watershed that
include  the Upper Main Stem and
Torreon Wash sub-basins.  Their
approach  entails:
• In-channel stream restoration
 by increasing plant life and by
 adding sediment-filtering,  log
 flow-management structures.
• Implementation of new water harvesting methods and
 erosion control practices,  including innovative road
 maintenance techniques such as spreading water flow to
 promote vegetation growth.
• Utilization of pre-project aerial photography of the
 watershed  to create a baseline for evaluating the
 progress made by the restoration projects.
•An extensive monitoring plan headed by a compliance
 review team to overview and document restoration
 efforts underway.
• Watershed educational programs to increase public
 awareness, including demonstration and monitoring
 projects  with youth from Jemez and the Navajo Nation,
 along with students from area schools and colleges.
                                                    New Mexico rancher standing in well grassed valley bottom.

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  A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR
  CHANGE

  RPMC has implemented the Rio Puerco Watershed
  Management Plan (2003), which they established with
  the involvement of a diverse group of leaders, including:

  • Nine federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land
   Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs

  • Six tribes, including the  Pueblo Jemez and the Navajo
   Nation

  • Eleven state agencies, including  the New Mexico
   Environment Department and the State Land Office

  • Eight private and non-profit organizations, such as the
   Quivira Coalition and Tree New Mexico, Inc.

  • Private landowners and Indian allottees along the Rio
   Puerco Main Stem and Torreon Wash

  • Many volunteers
                                                                         Rio  Puerco
                                                                                           :'«*•'.--
                      Vertical bank instability on the Rio Puerco.
(Jfc)
~
                                                           \

                                             Jemez Pueblo ranchers constructed a series of
                                             post and wicker weirs using locally available
                                             juniper branches and sagebrush.
         EPA 840-F-04-002n
                                                                    \
       EPA'S TARGETED
       WATERSHEDS
       GRANT PROGRAM

       EPA's Targeted Watersheds
       Grant Program is a new,
       competitive grant program
       designed to encourage
       collaborative, community-
       driven approaches to meet
       clean water goals.

       For more information about
       the selected watersheds,
       please visit:
       http://www.epa.gov/owow/
       watershed/initiative/
\

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