Conservation projects for 2025

Ron Loehman, Conservation Chair

With Spring in full swing, we are starting to get more clarity on the prospects for volunteer conservation projects on the Santa Fe National Forest generally and the Jemez District specifically. As of mid-March, the SFNF has lost nineteen employees due to the Musk/Trump cuts, with more feared. This loss will affect planning and execution of restoration projects, so schedules may change from what we presently expect.

Restoration Projects in the Jemez watershed
One bright spot is that contracts for some restoration projects were placed before the start of the Musk/Trump attacks on Federal agencies and that funding seems safe for now. Rio Grande Return has Federal contracts for riparian restoration work this season on the Rio Cebolla and the Rio Penas Negras. The Cebolla project will start in early April, as described below. There will be other volunteer opportunities on the second Wednesdays of the summer months: May 14, June 11, July 9, and August 13. The Peñas Negras project is on hold for now because of difficult access to the work site. Rio Grande Return also has state funding from the NM Game and Fish Department Habitat Stamp program for a major restoration of the Rio de las Vacas downstream of San Pedro Parks. That project is in the planning stages now with on-stream work possibly starting in the Fall.

April 9th volunteer project on the Rio Cebolla
“Rio Grande Return will be hosting volunteer workdays on the second Wednesday of the month at their riverscape restoration projects. The first day will be April 9, 2025 on the Rio Cebolla above the Seven Springs fish hatchery. Volunteers are invited to assist with planting willow poles from 10am to 3pm. No experience is necessary. The site is approximately a two-hour drive from Albuquerque. Rio Grande Return has been creating beaver habitat on this creek for several years by planting willows, constructing exclosure fencing, and building beaver dam analogs and post-assisted log structures, but there is much work to be done.

If you are interested in participating or you have questions, please email Karen Menetrey, karen@riograndereturn.org (505) 603-1328 by Saturday, April 5th and copy Ron Loehman at ronloehman@gmail.com. We will send out detailed instructions and directions on Monday before the event.”

Note that the holes for the willow planting will be pre-drilled, which will make the planting a lot easier on the volunteers.

Beaver
Beavers are Mother Nature’s environmental engineers, and they work 24/7 to implement riparian restorations that we struggle to emulate. Human restoration work in Western mountain streams frequently aims to create conditions favorable to beaver colonization so they can take over construction and maintenance duties. I’ve written about this in previous NMT Newsletters.
link 1 | link 2 | link 3 | link 4

Sometimes beavers do their work too well and flood areas that cause problems. Such a situation is developing with the beaver dams on the Rio Cebolla just upstream of Porter’s Landing. Forest Service staff are concerned that the dams are raising pond levels sufficient to flood FR 376. Their solution is to install a Pond Leveler, which will maintain the water level at a set value, regardless of any increase in dam height. We will help with the installation and will contribute to the cost of materials. I’ll send out a notice once the project is scheduled. It should be a two-day project, with a June 2025 target date. Come out to help, get muddy, and examine some beaver dams up close.

Guadalupe cleanup and FS road closures
Except for the part of FR 376 through the Gilman tunnels, most roads on the Jemez District are scheduled to be opened “around April 1st”. The road through the tunnels will be closed until the severely damaged guard rail can be repaired or replaced by a contractor. That has an uncertain timeline. We may be able to do our annual cleanup with FS permission to use the road before the guardrails are replaced. I will try for an April date and send out a notice if we get permission.