On July 20, 2024, NM and CO BHA members, BLM staff, a Pheasants Forever intern and multiple non BHA members joined Habitat Stewardship Coordinator Bard Edrington V on the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument in northern New Mexico to modify fencing. The goal of the event was to modify the existing fencing to be wildlife friendly for pronghorn, elk and mule deer. The current fencing separates grazing allotments and has a bottom strand that is ~10"-12" off the ground and a total height of 50" in some places. This makes it difficult for pronghorn, elk and deer to move freely across the landscape. In order for a fence to be "wildlife friendly" the bottom strand is replaced with a smooth strand set at 16" off the ground with the next three strands placed at 6", 8" and 12" for a total height of 42" tall. This spacing ensures that pronghorn can easily pass under and deer and elk can jump the fence without their legs becoming entangled in the wire. 

After a brief safety meeting and project overview, the 21 attendees spread out across the 1/4 mile section and performed different tasks. Some cut clips, others hung new clips in the correct heights, some stretched wire and others added the fence stays. Messages were sent down the fence line like the old game of telephone, letting people know when it was time to clip or stretch. After the first 1/4 mile was done everyone knew their role and we moved on to the next section. One group of volunteers witnessed a pronghorn franticly searching for a spot to go under a unmodified section of fencing, a real life example of how their hard work can make a huge impact on the local wildlife. Everyone was very motivated and in total we modified 1 mile of fencing, improving ~3 square miles of habitat.  

After the work day volunteers went back to camp to enjoy local beers donated by Santa Fe Brewing Company. Nick Streit of the Taos Fly shop led a clinic on fly fishing in small streams and talked about our forthcoming trip into the Cruces Basin Wilderness to fish for brook trout. After a huge meal during our wild game potluck that included Barbery Sheep fajitas, smoked wild caught salmon, oryx steaks and mule deer stew, the group was entertained by live music from Bard and bandmate Sarah Ferrell.  

On Sunday morning a group of 13 headed down the rough muddy road to the trailhead into the Cruces Basin Wilderness to spend the day fishing.  Nick Streit gave some tips on how to fish the small streams and everyone headed out in their own direction. Numerous small brookies were caught before the summer monsoons sent us running for the trucks. The trip into the Cruces Basin Wilderness was the perfect way to round out a weekend of public land use and stewardship. 

Check out the video made by Kyle Klain, Video

Special thanks to The Taos BLM field office, Kyle Klain @hinterlanded for the amazing photography and videography, as well as our sponsors, Santa Fe Brewing Company, Dometic, and the Taos Fly Shop. A big thanks to Nick Streit for donating his time, and his group The Friends of the Rio Grande for their help promoting the event. 

The New Mexico BHA chapter would like to thank everyone that came out to spend their day improving habitat on our public lands.  We hope to see new and familiar faces at our upcoming events.  

About Friends of the Rio Grande

Friends Of RGDN believes that land protection can’t be fully realized without careful and meaningful land stewardship. They strive to facilitate a connection between the local community and the managing and governing agencies of our beloved National Monument. Through outreach, conservation, and access projects, they work to enhance the National Monument and the lives of the people who live, work and play in the Rio Grande del Norte.