Feature: Guidelines for Planning Riparian Restoration in the Southwest

A Guide for Planning Riparian Treatments in New Mexico was developed by a cooperative effort between the USDA NRCS Los Lunas Plant Materials Center (LLPMC), the USDA NRCS New Mexico Technical Services, and the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts. This guide provides both planning and design assistance in treating riparian areas. The guide begins by identifying the importance of collecting critical on-site information necessary for the evaluation of site conditions which are based on hydrology, soils, and vegetation. The site conditions will help to identify the treatment options for restoration such as control of invasive woody species or planting of vegetation. All treatments include some type of maintenance and monitoring.

Land managers in New Mexico have been engaged in controlling exotic phreatophytic woody species in riparian areas and have treated more than 34,000 acres in New Mexico from 2002 – 2004. Many of these treated areas have undergone either passive or active revegetation treatments. The methodologies utilized have been developed mainly by New Mexico Universities, Federal and State Agencies, or experts within private industries. The LLPMC has been a major contributor in developing new, innovative planting methodologies and new plant materials that work in the Southwest without irrigation. Common restoration methodologies often are not affective under Southwest conditions and therefore, often do not work in New Mexico.

A few treatment scenarios are provided in the guide; examples are present as well as photographs taken before and after treatments.

This guide is composed of 40 pages, identifies 40 free websites where New Mexico NRCS endorsed treatment information can be downloaded. It is “free of charge” from NRCS New Mexico Information About Plants at http://www.nm.nrcs.usda.gov/plants.html

The guide has served as the foundation for Riparian Workshops which have been provided to all New Mexico NRCS Field Offices, NM SWCD employees, other federal and state agencies (i.e. BLM), non profit groups (i.e. Tamerisk Coalition), and private companies (Rocky Mountain Plants). The LLPMC employees have assisted in providing this training. This guide was presented to the international conservation community by a LLPMC Agronomist in a presentation about its composition at the Soil and Water Conservation Society 2008 Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

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