July 11, 2012

CONTACT:

Staci Stevens, Audubon New Mexico, cell: 202-294-3101, sstevens@audubon.org

 ALBUQUERQUE, NM— Today, Audubon New Mexico released a new report, Hanging in the balance: Why our rivers need water and why we need healthy rivers, which examines the need to restore natural streamflow patterns to New Mexico’s rivers for environmental and economic benefits. The report also highlights collaborative projects underway on the San Juan River and the Rio Chama that are successfully restoring healthy streamflows to formerly depleted areas, while making recommendations for next steps to expand this effort statewide. 

Audubon’s report comes on the heels of a visit to Albuquerque by Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, in which he revealed his office’s Middle Rio Grande Conservation Initiative which laid out next steps in implementing a cohesive vision for conservation, education and outdoor recreation in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Secretary Salazar’s initiative called for similar restoration efforts to the new Audubon report, emphasizing the need for collaboration between multiple stakeholders to, “acquire and dedicate water for environmental flows, ecosystem processes, streamside riparian and wetland habitat restoration, and recreation.” 

These two reports are coming at a time when extreme drought conditions have raised the issue of watershed health to the forefront. “The collaborative partnerships being used on the San Juan River and the Rio Chama are excellent models of the type of conservation strategy that we need on New Mexico’s rivers,” said Congressman Martin Heinrich. “The Rio Grande is the unifying thread of New Mexico’s culture and economy.  We all have a stake in maintaining the health of this great river.”

“An unprecedented effort - based on partnerships among local, state, federal and tribal entities, and numerous public and private organizations - will be essential if the Rio Grande is to endure as a vibrant, resilient system that sustains people, culture, and nature as our climate changes,” stated Kelly Gossett, a member of the Secretary's Citizen Committee for the Middle Rio Grande Conservation Initiative representing the New Mexico Outdoors Coalition. 

Finding the right balance of water use has been a key objective of scientists and water managers working on the Rio Chama.  “Better streamflow management could yield a healthier trout fishery, more reliable flows for whitewater recreation, adequate water for Chama Valley acequias in late season, and improved hydro-electric power generating capacity for local utilities,” explained Steve Harris, project manager of the Rio Chama Flow Project and director of Rio Grande Restoration.

The success of collaborative efforts to manage our water supply can be witnessed as recently as this past month, when the water agency which serves farmers in the middle Rio Grande Valley began special water releases from Heron Reservoir to help reduce risks to trout that were being stranded by the drought. This was a move that was agreed upon by both farmers and fishers, who have at other times been unlikely allies.

Audubon’s report, based on data from a recently completed EPA-commissioned study, found that the Rio Grande at Embudo and the Rio Grande at Albuquerque are among the most vulnerable stretches of New Mexico’s rivers and in most need of restoration of natural streamflow patterns. What’s at stake is loss of riparian forests and wetlands, spread of invasive species, decline in the abundance of fish and wildlife, and increased water pollution. Cumulatively, these impacts result in not only environmental costs, but in economic loss due to decreased recreation value and decline of ecosystem function and services like mitigating floods and breaking down pollutants.

Especially in times of economic difficulty, the significant contribution that rivers make to our outdoor recreation economy should not be overlooked. According to the Outdoor Industry Foundation, active outdoor recreation including activities such as fishing, paddling, and wildlife viewing which are directly related to river health, supports 47,000 jobs and contributes $3.8 billion dollars annually to New Mexico’s economy.

“Tourism is not only New Mexico’s second most productive industry, it is a diverse one too, allowing people with an array of skills and ages to participate in the creation of economic stability, especially in the northern part of our state,” said Toner Mitchell, manager of The Reel Life fly shop and president of the Truchas Chapter of Trout Unlimited. “Water in adequate quantities translates to dollars and jobs for rafting companies, fishing shops, wilderness guides, along with indirect benefits to the lodging and restaurant industries. This type of economy is noteworthy for its breadth and sustainability, and water makes it all happen." 

Audubon’s report ends with recommendations for restoring healthy streamflow statewide and calls for, among other things, the advancement of river science, integrating environmental flows into regional water planning and management, and the authorization of voluntary water rights transfers to restore streamflows.  

“The good news from our report is that the ecological decline of New Mexico’s rivers can be reversed and the long-term viability of the river ecosystems protected by restoring key elements of a river’s natural flow regime,” emphasized Karyn Stockdale, executive director of Audubon New Mexico.  “As we’ve seen on the San Juan and Chama, collaboration across many interests is the best way forward and it seems there is finally a consensus that now is the time to get to work.”

The full report, Hanging in the Balance: Why Our Rivers Need Water and Why We Need Healthy Rivers can be viewed at: http://nm.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/hanginginthebalance.pdf     

##