Ron Loehman, Conservation Chairman New Mexico Trout conservation volunteers worked hard and accomplished a lot earlier this month on a series of projects on the Rio Cebolla along Forest Road 376. As is customary, the first work project of the season also featured a barbeque lunch for all the volunteers. Our work was guided by Phyllis Martinez, a ranger with the Jemez District, and Cecil Rich, fisheries biologist with the Santa Fe National Forest. We had a good turnout, with enough volunteers to tackle three separate tasks. The first task, which was directed by Cecil Rich, was to plant willow ... Read More
July 1, 2016
On 1 June,18 of the 20 lucky winners of the club sponsored lottery to fish Cow Creek Ranch met at 6:30 a.m. at the Lowes on Paseo Del Norte's parking lot. Car pools were organized and we set off for Cow Creek Ranch. Knowing that folks would get separated driving the interstate, we all met at the Glorieta/Pecos exit where many of the anglers had a cup of coffee from a coffee truck. The truck is like a food truck except it serves all kinds of coffee drinks at lower prices than Starbucks. We departed the exit and traveled caravan ... Read More
July 1, 2016
Jerry Burton, Ron Loehman, and Art Vollmer of Trout Unlimited met with the SFNF Supervisor, Maria Garcia, her Deputy, Joe Norell, and Alan Setzer, the acting ranger on the Jemez District at the SFNF offices in Santa Fe on May 24. The FS requested the meeting to address our objections to the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse (NMMJM) decision and to try to convince us to withdraw those objections. We discussed the jumping mouse issue with them for more than three hours and hammered out the agreement. The New Mexico Trout Board accepted the agreement by email vote. In my ... Read More
May 27, 2016
Our annual member BBQ will be held on Saturday, June 4 in conjunction with a work project on the Rio Cebolla. We have worked with Santa Fe National Forest staff to identify a three-part project that will provide important benefits to the Rio Cebolla.
- Planting willow cuttings along the Cebolla inside one of the areas fenced off as NM Meadow Jumping Mouse habitat.
- Building vehicle barriers to protect stream banks that are eroding sediment into the Cebolla.
- Removing campfire rings inside the newly-constructed vehicle barriers that are too close to the stream and are an additional source of stream pollution. We will ... Read More
May 27, 2016
From the May/June 2016 Newsletter Fly, Notes and Photos by Charlie Craven and Greg Garcia Used by Permission Hook: TMC 100SP-BL #14-18 Bead: Green Glass Seed Bead 15/0 size Thread: 10/0 olive to secure the bead, then 8/0 Black for the rest of the fly Abdomen: Black Superfine Dubbing Underwing: Pearl Krystal Flash, Red Krystal Flash and Pearl Mirage Strands Overwing: Bleached Elk Hair Hackle: Grizzly Dyed Brown Rooster Saddle or Neck Hackle The MDC is a stroke of genius and is becoming a hugely popular pattern. The addition of the small glass seed bead at the bend ... Read More
May 1, 2016
The East Fork of the Jemez, Jaramillo Creek, the Rio San Antonio, and the Rito do los Indios are open to fishing year round, as long as they are not frozen. Vehicle access requires a Backcountry Vehicle Permit, and 35 permits will be issued daily on a first-come basis at the Valles Caldera visitor center until 30 September. The free permits are for general access to the backcountry and there is no special quota for anglers. There is no additional cost for the Vehicle Access Permit beyond the general entry fee for the Preserve. A valid New Mexico fishing license ... Read More
May 1, 2016
Our next conservation project will be on June 4, 2016 at a site still to be decided along the Rio Guadalupe/Rio Cebolla corridor. Forest Service staff need to do some more field work to decide the best project for that date. The project will also include our annual conservation barbecue ... Read More
May 1, 2016
The Forest Service has issued the final Environmental Assessment (EA) of its plan to protect NM Meadow Jumping Mouse (MJM) habitat along mountain meadow streams in the Jemez Mountains. The final plan bans non-consumptive recreation (as well as grazing) from MJM habitat for at least 10 years. Background In 2014, the Meadow Jumping Mouse was listed as an endangered species. Its endangered status is attributable to destruction of its mountain meadow stream habitat by years of excessive cattle grazing on Forest Service grazing allotments. Even though there is no evidence for damage to MJM habitat from non-consumptive recreation, such as ... Read More
May 1, 2016