Restoring Rangelands in Northern New Mexico with Keyline Design

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. Managers used a high-capacity laser level to delineate contours and created two 15-inch-deep rip lines and swales with specialized plows. The swales and rip lines were spaced 100 feet apart to minimize disturbance to native vegetation and leave room for future features. The estimated project cost was $10,000, but collaboration among ranchers could bring additional cost savings.