The Blue Hole Cienega Restoration Project aims to restore the Blue Hole Ciénega, one of the largest remaining ciénegas in the Southwest. Close to 95% of ciénegas have been lost or damaged due to farming, overgrazing, draining, channelization, and drying during development.

Planning with extreme weather thresholds catalyzes a $400,000 green infrastructure investment in a historically underserved neighborhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico. City staff partnered with NOAA and nonprofit organizations for a local resilience project that includes a demonstration rainwater harvesting facility and a green infrastructure assessment of the neighborhood.

The use of organic amendments such as compost is a potential tool for grassland restoration. Compost additions can promote soil water retention and plant productivity, and reduce erosion. Cost is a major barrier to this technique. This study worked to understand and quantify the ecological benefits of compost addition, in the hopes of promoting its economic viability as a restoration method. 

The Carson National Forest (CNF) is at risk for high-intensity wildfires. Mimicking the Acequias traditional water-management system, the Cerro Negro Forest Council (CNFC) created forest mayordomos, or local managers who are a a pillar with local knowledge and heritage to serve the community within the Pueblo and Hispanic communities of northern New Mexico.  

In response to the increased wildfire risk and spread of invasive species, the Sandia Pueblo Environment Department and ranch staff from Galloping Goat Pumpkin Patch Ranch, with funding from the Forest and Watershed Restoration Act through the New Mexico State Forestry Division, implemented a goat grazing program in 2021.

Since 2004, A.T. & Lucinda Cole, founders of the Pitchfork Ranch in New Mexico, have been working to restore the ciénaga habitat that had been degraded by overgrazing. They constructed over 200 in-channel and 800 drainage grade-control structures, implemented sustainable gazing, replanted tree and vegetation, and reintroduced endangered wildlife species.

Led by USACE, the Bosque Wildfire Project was initiated to restore bosque habitat and wetland function around Albuquerque, New Mexico. Key features of restoration included constructing wetlands and swales to support moisture-seeking plants and animals, creating high-flow channels and bank terracing to enhance hydraulic connectivity within the bosque, and revegetating with native plants.

The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) partnered with the USFWS and the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) to restore over 550 acres of riparian habitat of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas, and acquire water rights for irrigation. 

In 2012, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) collaborated to enhance populations of chub and leopard frogs in Moreno Spring. Their goal was to restore beneficial wetlands in the region by creating more open-water habitats and removing vegetation that reduces habitat suitability for these species.

Following a fire that reduced non-native Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout populations, the Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF), USFWS, and the Gila National Forest initiated a project to restore the native, previously extirpated Gila Trout populations in Whitewater Creek. The team used electrofishing surveys to document non-native fish presence and perform reconnaissance for rotenone treatments.

The Ohkay Owingeh riparian restoration project is a series of coordinated projects reaching back to the 1990s that now encompasses over 700 acres of restored ecological mosaic including wetlands, cottonwood gallery forest, grassland, shrub cover, open water, and dense emergent willow thicket that is ideal for bird habitat, particularly Southwestern Willow Flycatcher.

USFWS established the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) to research fire management with prescribed burns in semiarid grasslands at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR). The effect of prescribed burns and timing on organic matter, ammonium, and nitrate was measured. Results suggest that seasonality affects plant species productivity and composition.

To restore the endangered Silvery Minnow, the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Save Our Bosque Task Force worked closely with a local landownerto restore approximately 0.8 river miles of critical habitat along the Rio Grande River. The project involved mechanical bank lowering and the creation of side channels and embayments.

Planned and implemented by the Tribe’s Fish and Wildlife Department, this unique program of watershed restoration and riparian conservation has been rooted in traditional Zuni cultural values. The causes of degradation were man-made dams, channelization, and invasive plant encroachment (i.e. Tamarix pentandra). The project reintroduced 23 beavers to sites with impaired hydrologic flow regimes.

Between 1890 and 1940, extensive logging using narrow-gauge railroad technology cut over much of the Bluewater watershed. Led by USDA Forest Service, this project implemented a range of channel treatments and interventions to affect flow regimes, channel stability, and water quality, including not only dams and control structures but also riparian plantings, riparian pastures, and beaver management programs.

USIBWC and the USFWS collaborated on habitat improvements for fish and wildlife on the Rio Grande Canalization Project (RGCP). USIBWC implement habitat restoration at 22 sites covering 509 acres to reduce saltcedar and increase native riparian vegetation. Restoration also included mitigating channel maintenance activities that impacted vegetated islands.

Drought, grazing, and monoculture have led to low infiltration and high erosion in New Mexico during the monsoon season. With funding from the New Mexico Healthy Soils Program, the owners of C-B Ranch and Esquibel Ranch are restoring infiltration and vegetation using keyline design techniques, such as swales and rip lines.

Urban development caused poor water quality, a falling water table, and erosion in the Sante Fe River. The city and county of Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Watershed Association are integrating river restoration with green infrastructure projects and public recreation opportunities to improve water quality, riverine habitat and mitigate flood risk.  

The Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is an urban oasis for both wildlife and people. The Refuge aims to restore 530 acres of its land to native bosque (riparian woodlands) and upland habitat to support wildlife. The green spaces in the refuge offer communities opportunities for wildlife observation, photography, youth employment, and environmental education.

Since 2016, Audubon New Mexico has engaged in innovative environmental water transactions with four Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, a private golf club, several private water rights holders, and municipalities to support riparian habitats in the Isleta Reach during the driest time of the year.