In 1965 the New Mexico Department of Transportation re-routed a 2 mile section of the Rio Puerco into a straight 1 mile channel.  They were trying to offset the cost of building bridges over the ephemeral stream.  The result was a 45’ deep and 300’+ wide channel that eroded over 600,000 cubic meters of sediment.  The once biodiverse riparian habitat on the original section quickly died.

In 2006, after the constructed channel threatened highway 550, the river was restored to its natural course.  During that time BLM began restoring the riparian area, planting coyote willows and stands of cottonwood.  Around each cottonwood plantings they erected 7’ tall fencing to keep out wildlife and cattle.  Over the next  20 years, deposited sediment covered portions of the fence and the cottonwoods rose to 30’+ tall.  The bottom of the Rio Puerco is used by elk, deer and other wildlife as they migrate out of the Nacimiento mountains into the sagebrush flats and piñon juniper mesas.  The riparian area provides cover and a corridor to pass under the busy highway 550.  The numerous fencing exclosures reduces the amount of habitat they can access and creates unnecessary barriers to their movement.

  

This is where BHA volunteers come in.  Coordinating with Isidro Barela, a wildlife biologist with the BLM Rio Puerco office, Bard and Isidro identified multiple exclosures in the Rio Puerco that could be removed.

Nineteen volunteers showed up on a beautiful spring morning to lend a hand to improve habitat connectivity.  This was one of the largest groups on a NM stewardship project.  There were active duty military, veteran, teenagers, father and son, father and daughter, mother and son, brothers, entire family, repeat stewardship volunteers and new volunteers.

  

  

Everyone broke into groups and started rolling up the task at hand.  The group of 19 quickly disappeared into the thick willows.  Luckily we had radios from Rocky Talkie that allowed us to stay in touch and locate the much needed angle grinder.

Fence was coming down at a rapid rate.  By lunch we had reached our original goal of 1 mile.  It was evident we would surpass that number.

  

Lunch was provided by Jim Palmer.  Another crowd favorite of BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with all the fixings.  Look for Jim’s BBQ at future NM stewardship events.

   

By the end of the day the group had removed 1.75 miles of fence.  All of the wire was shuttled to the truck and removed off the site.  No more entanglement issues for the deer and elk.

  

Back at camp, turkeys where the topic of conversation.  There were a number of attendees that were new to turkey hunting and were eager to learn.  Bard took a group of 4 out on Sunday morning to a state run Wildlife Management Area.  About a 1/2 mile into the early morning walk they heard a gobble across the valley.  A few yelps and clucks later, the gobbler passed just out of range as Bard and the young hunter sat under a ponderosa pine.  No turkeys were harmed in the hunt, but valuable knowledge and memories were made.

Events like this remind us how valuable public lands are.  We cannot only take from these places, we have to carve out time to leave them in a better place for the next generation.

If you have not had the pleasure of attending a BHA event, go to your states event page and sign up for one.  They are perfect places to meet new friends and leave a lasting positive impact on public land.

 

And if you aren’t a member of BHA, then join us now!