Pecos National Historical Park Glorieta Creek Wetland-Riparian Restoration

This project was focused on restoring a half-mile floodplain and terraces along Glorieta Creek within Pecos National Historical Park (NHP), which had been historically mined for sand and gravel and bulldozed into levees and two reservoirs. The main goal was to restore hydrological function by removing the levees and reservoirs and recontouring the creek channel. Starting in 1999 the National Park Service and its partners removed fill and parts of the levee, and planted the riparian areas with trees and native grasses. The project resulted in improved hydrologic functioning of the creek and a thriving native riparian plant community that was healthy until the recent long-term drought within the region.