United States Department of Agriculture • Natural Resources Conservation Service 

6200 Jeff erson NE • Albuquerque, NM 87109 • (505) 761-4400

2009 HELPING PEOPLE HELP THE LAND

NRCS New Mexico

Activities Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and 

activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, 

marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from 

any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, 

large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and 

TDD). To fi le a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Offi ce of Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or 

(202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Contents

Quick Facts ........1

2009 Farm Bill & Other Program Funding ........2

Conservation Technical Assistance ........3

Environmental Quality Incentives Program ........4

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Programs ........5

Conservation Stewardship Program ........6

Partnership Programs ........7

Easement & Long-Term Restoration Programs ........8

Emergency Watershed Protection Program ........9

Los Lunas Plant Materials Center ......10

NRCS Soil Survey Program ......11

Snow Survey & Water Supply Forecasting ......12

Resource Conservation & Development ......13
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 1 |

Quick Facts

Voluntary Private Lands Conservation Assistance in New Mexico

With the mission of “Helping People Help the Land,” the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 

delivers voluntary programs, products and services that help local people protect and improve natural 

resources on non-federal lands. 

Our locally based NRCS staffs work directly with farmers, ranchers and others to provide technical and 

financial conservation assistance suited to each client’s specific needs. We provide technical information and 

guidance, plan conservation systems and practices, and offer financial assistance for conservation activities 

through the programs of the 2008 Farm Bill. 

These voluntary programs help local people improve land stewardship on working cropland and rangeland, 

conserve water supplies, enhance wildlife habitat, preserve high-quality farmland, protect native plants 

and animals, and improve stream conditions. NRCS programs also provide upstream flood prevention, 

emergency watershed protection, urban conservation, and assistance for local community projects designed to 

improve social, economic and environmental conditions. As a result of our voluntary technical and financial 

assistance, land managers and communities take a comprehensive approach to the use and protection of 

natural resources in rural, urban and developing areas. 

More information about the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in New Mexico is available at: 

www.nm.nrcs.usda.gov.

New Mexico NRCS Fiscal Year 2009 Accomplishments

 3,887,000 acres of conservation planning completed

 32 watershed plans developed

 200,400 acres of cropland conservation applied

 3,110,000 acres of conservation applied to improve water quality

 94,000 acres of irrigation improvements

 4,845,000 acres of grazing land and forest land conservation

 2,192,000 acres of conservation applied to improve fi sh and wildlife habitat

 Over $26 million in fi nancial assistance to New Mexico producers and landowners
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 2 |

FY 09 Financial Assistance Expenditures by Program by Congressional District

Congressional

District* 1 2 3 Total

Environmental

Quality Incentives 

Program (EQIP)

A voluntary program that provides technical, educational, and fi nancial assistance to eligible farmers and 

ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on working agricultural lands.

$2,573,945 $10,316,133 $8,431,153 $21,579,606

Programs funded through EQIP: 

Agricultural Water 

Enhancement 

Program (AWEP)

A partnership program to leverage EQIP assistance against the funding, staff or other resources of project 

partners to conserve ground and surface water or improve water quality on agricultural lands. 

$169,208 $2,826,326 $35,123 $3,630,657

Cooperative 

Conservation 

Partnership 

Initiative (CCPI) 

A partnership program to leverage funding through EQIP, WHIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program 

(CSP) against the resources of project partners to address a high-priority natural resource concern. 

$1,300,000 $131,471 $1,431,471

Conservation Security 

Program 

(2002 Farm Bill) 

A voluntary stewardship program of the 2002 Farm Bill that promotes ongoing conservation on agricultural 

lands. No new contracts are being written, and NRCS is making payments to fulfi ll existing contracts. 

$10,826 $421,029 $769,882 $1,201,737

Farm & Ranchland

Protection Program 

(FRPP)

A voluntary program that helps landowners keep their productive land in agriculture through conservation 

easements limiting conversion of property to non-agricultural uses.

$600,000 $600,000

Federal/Private

Cooperative 

Conservation

Part of EQIP that is voluntary and facilitates conservation on an entire ranching operation where sections 

of the operation’s grazed land are federally owned.

$233,427 $113,072 $346,499

Grassland Reserve 

Program (GRP)

A voluntary program to help farmers and ranchers protect their grazing land from conversion to other uses. 

$2,350,000 $2,350,000

Wildlife Habitat

Incentives Program 

(WHIP)

A voluntary program that encourages creation of high quality wildlife habitat that support wildlife populations of national, state, tribal, and local signifi cance.

$61,615 $289,009 $516,081 $866,706

Watershed

Rehabilitation

A voluntary program that offers assistance to local sponsors in evaluating and updating as necessary dams 

constructed with certain types of federal assistance.

$279,000 $276,000 $555,000

2009 Farm Bill & Other 

Program Funding

The conservation provisions in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) are providing 

conservation opportunities for farmers, ranchers, private landowners and communities for years to come. 

The 2008 Farm Bill builds on the conservation gains made through the 1985, 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills. It 

simplifies existing programs and creates new programs to address high priority environmental goals.

A summary of Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 funding provided through some important Farm Bill programs in New 

Mexico is shown below.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 3 |

Conservation Technical 

Assistance

NRCS provides data, information and technical expertise that helps 

people collect and analyze information to identify natural resource 

problems and opportunities, clarify their objectives, and formulate and 

evaluate alternatives. Conservation plans reflect a customer’s decisions 

about the management of natural resources for a specific area, which 

may be a farm or ranch operating unit, a group of units, a community, 

or a landscape feature such as a watershed. Technical consultations and 

planning assistance provide professional advice that helps customers make 

decisions about natural resource management.

Conservation Planning Assistance to Improve Acequias 

1st Congressional District 

Many of New Mexico’s acequias that carry irrigation water to farm 

fields were constructed hundreds of years ago. There are approximately 

800 community acequia and ditch associations in the state, and many 

of these groups seek technical assistance and engineering services, as 

well as funding for improvements, to keep these important structures 

functioning. 

In December 2009, Acequia Arriba de El Valle in El Valle, New 

Mexico, fi nished construction of a concrete-capped gabion diversion 

on the Rio de Las Trampas (Las Trampas River). NRCS conservation 

professionals provided engineering services to design the new structure 

through the NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance program. 

The structure replaces a very old timber weir of unknown age. In 

the past, the acequia association used hay bales to divert water into an 

earthen ditch. There was no control gate at the inlet, and the group was 

unable to control the quantity of water entering the ditch. The system 

allowed excess water to be wasted and required frequent maintenance. 

The project benefits approximately 22 irrigators farming 81 acres of land 

and allows them to conserve the water not needed for agriculture. 

In 2009, NRCS New 

Mexico worked with 

private landowners 

and producers to plan 

conservation strategies on 

nearly 3.9 million acres. 
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 4 |

Grazing Management Protects Playa Lakes 

3rd Congressional District 

Eastern New Mexico’s playa lakes provide critical habitat for declining 

species of birds and other wildlife in the otherwise semiarid, short grass 

prairie and agricultural landscape. These ephemeral wetland areas 

represent keystone ecosystems of biodiversity in an arid environment. 

They are also important zones of recharge for the rapidly declining High 

Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer, which supplies all agriculture and domestic 

water in the area.

In 2009, Stan and Cathy Fury applied for EQIP assistance to treat the 

effects of overgrazing around playa lakes, which can critically reduce 

cover and shelter for birds and increase the potential for sediment and 

contaminants reaching the fragile water source and compromising its 

natural functions.

Through EQIP, the producers will receive a payment for three years to 

defer livestock grazing in the sensitive playa bottom and on 320 acres 

of surrounding upland range. As the project matures, grass species will 

recover and provide cover and shelter for bird species. In addition, the 

additional grass cover filters sediment and potential pollutants before it 

reaches these important playa lakes. 

Environmental Quality 

Incentives Program (EQIP)

EQIP is a voluntary program that helps producers install measures to 

protect the soil, water, air, and other resources while ensuring sustainable 

production on farms, ranches and working forest lands. 

Through EQIP, NRCS provides funding and technical expertise to help 

farmers and ranchers and others to address natural resource concerns 

on their land in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner. 

It promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as 

compatible goals and supports activities such as: manure management 

practices, pest management treatments, efficient irrigation upgrades, forest 

stewardship plans and management practices, erosion control and buffers, range 

and pasture planting, fencing and stockwater, and a number of other practices.

EQIP is helping to protect 

fragile playa lakes, improve 

groundwater recharge and 

provide critical wildlife 

habitat in eastern New 

Mexico.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 5 |

Wildlife Habitat 

Incentives Program (WHIP)

WHIP helps landowners improve and protect wildlife habitat on private 

and tribal lands. Program priorities for fiscal year 2009 were to:

• Promote restoration of declining or important native habitats;

• Protect, restore, develop or enhance habitat for at-risk species;

• Reduce the impacts of invasive species on wildlife habitats; and

• Protect, restore or enhance declining or important aquatic habitats.

FY 2009 was a record-setting year for the program, with the most WHIP 

funding ever provided to improve habitat in New Mexico. New Mexico. 

These projects have improved habitat on private land for elk, turkey, bear, 

grouse, bighorn sheep, endangered willow flycatchers and other species. 

These projects have emphasized the development of water supplies for 

wildlife, establishment of permanent flood plains, and fencing cattle out 

of creeks and ponds. 

WHIP Promotes Healthy Grasslands for Livestock & Wildlife 

2nd Congressional District 

In 2009, William West applied for WHIP conservation assistance to 

improve wildlife habitat, control invasive brush species, prevent soil 

erosion and improve grazing conditions on his eastern New Mexico 

ranch.

Through WHIP, Mr. West will expand grazing distribution with the 

installation of a pipeline and a watering facility, which will have escape 

ramps to prevent various wildlife species from drowning. A diversion 

will also be installed to reduce soil erosion and loss of vegetative cover. 

In addition, brush management activities will reduce the encroachment 

of mesquite to improve grass stands for improved food and shelter for 

wildlife and increased forage production for livestock and wildlife. 

Treatment will reduce the canopy cover of mesquite from 14 percent to 

five percent on the area. 

The improved wildlife habitat will benefit pronghorn antelope and scaled 

quail, a declining species dependent on healthy grassland habitat.

Nearly $900,000 in FY 

2009 WHIP funding helped 

landowners protect and 

improve conditions for 

wildlife in New Mexico.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 6 |

Conservation Stewardship 

Program (CSP)

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) encourages land stewards 

to improve their conservation performance by installing and adopting 

additional activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing 

activities on agricultural land and nonindustrial private forest land. 

Newly authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, CSP is available for agricultural 

landowners across the nation and replaces the former Conservation 

Security Program.

New Mexico Producers Fare Well in First Statewide Signup

The first signup for the new CSP ended on September 30, 2009. New 

Mexico producers showed a great deal of interest in the program and 

submitted applications for more acres than almost any other state in the 

nation. 

NRCS anticipates entering into 90 CSP contracts to help producers 

improve and enhance conservation activities across the state. Because 

of the high level of interest here, NRCS has exceeded the initial New 

Mexico signup allocation of 500,000 acres and plans, instead, to enroll 

more than 650,000 acres of rangeland, cropland and forest lands into 

the program.

Program payments will be based on individual contract details and will 

help producers install additional conservation measures while benefitting 

local economies.

New Mexico producers 

account for a large amount 

of the 2009 CSP acres 

enrolled in the nation. Their 

program participation will 

increase the conservation 

funding brought to local 

communities. 
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 7 |

Partnership 

Programs

NRCS partners with state and local governments, tribes, pueblos, American Indian nations, agricultural groups, non-profits and others to focus 

conservation assistance on local projects. Groups that work to address 

natural resource issues in New Mexico may be able to partner with 

NRCS to leverage dollars and expertise through the following programs:

• Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP)

• Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

• Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

• Small Watershed Program 

• NRCS Assistance for Acequia Associations

These programs allow NRCS to leverage funding with the funding, or 

other resources of partners to address high-priority concerns, improve 

conditions on a landscape scale, and/or develop innovative approaches.

Groups Partner with NRCS Deliver Solutions to Local Growers

2nd Congressional District 

In 2009, the Black Range Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) 

and the Deming Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) submitted 

a request to direct federal resources to help local growers address issues 

with irrigation water availability, soil health and rising costs to maintain 

well depth. NRCS entered into a partnership agreement with theses groups 

through the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), allowing 

the agency to dedicate up to $2.4 million through the Environmental Quality 

Incentives Program (EQIP) for irrigation system improvements in the project area over four years. The Black Range Resource RC&D and the Deming 

SWCD agreed to facilitate the submission of applications and provide additional technical assistance to participants. 

This partnership gives producers in the AWEP area the opportunity to apply for funding and assistance to convert fl ood or pivot sprinkler irrigation 

systems to more effi cient drip irrigation, increase system automation and 

monitoring, and reduce the amount of water pumped onto local fi elds. 

Diaz Farms, Inc., is a local producer participating to install a subsurface drip 

system. In this area, such systems can potentially reduce irrigation water 

use approximately 30 to 50 percent. Also, applying fertilizers through the 

system reduces use of heavy equipment and soil compaction. Finally, the 

operator will be able to reduce tillage, improving conditions for microbes 

and worms that improve soil health. Overall, the automated system and reduction in tillage will reduce fuel, labor and fertilizer and farm energy costs. 

In FY 2009, NRCS directed 

$3.7 million in AWEP 

conservation funding to 

landscape-scale projects in 

the Rio Grande Valley, Ft. 

Sumner and Deming areas. 
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 8 |

Easement & Long-Term 

Restoration Programs

The voluntary easement programs administered by NRCS offer 

landowners the opportunity to protect, restore and enhance natural 

resources on their property and ensure long-term conservation benefits. 

• Farm and Ranchlands Protection Program (FRPP): helps entities 

with easement programs work with farmers and ranchers to protect 

working agricultural land from conversion to non-agricultural uses. 

• Grassland Reserve Program (GRP): helps farmers and ranchers 

protect their working grazing land from conversion to other uses 

through easements or restoration agreements.

• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP): helps landowners restore or 

protect wetland areas through easements or restoration agreements.

These programs often leverage NRCS with against the resources of partner entities with corresponding goals to protect farm and ranch lands, 

preserve grasslands, or enhance wetlands. 

Wetland Restoration Connects Rio Grande Habitat Areas

1st Congressional District 

The Whitfield Conservation Area exemplifies a successful, multiple 

partner WRP project. The 98-acre property is located south of 

Albuquerque, New Mexico and adjoins the Rio Grande Bosque, a 

unique nature preserve with a cool, shady forest of large cottonwood 

trees, coyote willow, and New Mexico olive that provide habitat for 

beaver, numerous bird species, turtles, and snakes. The Whitfield WRP 

adds connectivity to this high-quality habitat and helps to form an 

increasingly rare stopover and feeding ground for the abundant wildlife 

that utilize the Rio Grande corridor to move north and south. 

Title to the property was donated to the Valencia Soil and Water 

Conservation District (SWCD), and the district continues to operate 

and maintain it. The SWCD successfully applied for and received 

a permanent WRP easement and worked with NRCS to complete 

restoration activities through the 2009 calendar year. 

To enhance the educational and recreational benefit of the project, the 

SWCD and the State of New Mexico have built a wetlands and wildlife 

education center on land adjacent to the easement. 

With NRCS easement and 

restoration assistance, 

partners can leverage their 

programs and services with 

those of NRCS to improve 

conservation outcomes in 

New Mexico.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 9 |

Ruidoso EWP Funding

FY 2008 Financial Assistance $ 3,510,000.00

FY 2009 Financial Assistance $ 5,829,000.00

Total: $9,339,000

Accomplishments

93,500 feet of debris removed

15, 286 feet of streambanks stabilized

3,100 acres of land protected

326 private and 2 public buildings protected

23 county road crossings protected

50 utilities protected

11 irrigation diversions replaced or protected

Emergency Watershed 

Protection Program (EWP)

NRCS administers EWP, which assists local communities responding 

to emergencies created by natural disasters. EWP provides technical 

and financial assistance to relieve imminent hazards to life and property 

caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural occurrences. 

These threats include, but are not limited to:

• Debris-clogged stream channels,

• Undermined and unstable streambanks,

• Jeopardized water control structures and public infrastructures, and

• Damaged landscapes stripped of protective vegetation by fire or 

drought.

Ruidoso Flood 

2nd Congressional District 

In 2008, the after-effects of Hurricane Dolly brought severe 

flooding to the Ruidoso area of Lincoln County. 

Washed-out homes and bridges, accumulated debris, destabilized 

streambanks and damaged irrigation diversions presented a 

number of safety concerns for local residents for the months to 

follow. 

Through EWP, NRCS directed $9.3 million in financial assistance 

and another 1.1 million in technical assistance to address urgent 

needs in the community. These resources were used to design, 

plan and complete activities to protect property valued at over $63 

million.

In addition to securing land rights and permits, local project 

sponsors provided an additional $2.3 million in funding and inkind services to complete the work. These local sponsors were: 

Lincoln County, Mescalero Apache Tribe, Upper Hondo Soil and 

Water Conservation District, Village of Capitan and the Village of 

Ruidoso.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 10 |

Los Lunas 

Plant Materials Center

The purpose of the Plant Material Centers program is to develop native 

plant solutions to help solve natural resource problems. Beneficial uses 

for which plant material may be developed include biomass production, 

carbon sequestration, erosion reduction, riparian restoration, and other 

special conservation treatment needs. 

Scientists at the Los Lunas Plant Materials Center research plants that 

show promise for meeting identified conservation needs and test their 

performance. After species are proven, they are released to the private 

sector for commercial production. 

Developing Plant Solutions to Natural Resource Challenges

The local NRCS Field Office, Conservation District, and the Los Lunas 

Plant Materials (PMC) assisted the National Hispanic Cultural Center 

with a riparian planting. Eight hundred ‘Longstem Transplants’ of 

several shrub species of the local native populations were deep planted 

in September of 2009. This riparian site is very typical of the Southwest 

in that it no longer floods, which is required for natural vegetation 

recruitment. The deep planting technique allows for immediate root 

contact with the capillary fringe of ground water (up to eight feet in 

depth), so plants do not require surface irrigation yet typically experience 

a 90 percent survival rate. 

To publicize new and effective planting methods, the PMC has developed 

brochures which are posted on the NRCS New Mexico and National 

Plant Materials Web sites. Planting methods have also been published 

in periodicals, such as the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation and 

the Native Plants Journal. 

 

In another effort with NRCS field offices and conservation districts, 

the PMC has been working on solutions to control wind erosion on 

agricultural lands. The PMC has been testing the usefulness and range of 

adaptability of the grass species sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii) by planting 

across the state including at the Joshua Sanchez farm in Deming, NM. 

Through plant breeding methods, the PMC has developed a population 

that can reach 10 feet in height in three years. 

The Los Lunas Plant 

Materials Center develops, 

tests and transfers native 

plant solutions to solve 

conservation problems.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 11 |

NRCS Soil Survey 

Program

NRCS provides soil surveys of the privately owned lands of the nation. 

Soil surveys provide an orderly, on-the-ground, scientific inventory of 

soil resources that includes maps showing the locations and extent of 

soils, data about the physical and chemical properties of those soils, and 

information derived from that data about potential uses and problems on 

each kind of soil. This is done in sufficient detail to meet many needs for 

farmers, agricultural technicians, community planners, engineers, and 

scientists in planning for specific land areas. 

Improving Soil Health to Sustain Agriculture 

In the past year, NRCS has made great strides in developing new tools to 

help landowners improve natural resource management and long-term 

sustainability on New Mexico’s farms and ranches.

Working with our many partners, NRCS helped to develop the “Soil 

Change Guide: Procedures for Soil Survey and Resource Inventory.” 

This guide helps conservationists measure the soil qualities that indicate 

soil health.

In addition, NRCS has developed a number of “Ecological Site 

Descriptions,” or ESDs, which show the potential for specified plant 

communities to change under various management and climate 

scenarios.

Healthy soil is the foundation for sustainable farms and ranches. The 

NRCS Soil Survey program continues to produce new information to 

help landowners, conservationists and others develop comprehensive, 

science-based management and conservation plans to ensure productive 

landscapes.

Soil Survey information and 

tools help NRCS and other 

agencies and individuals 

sustain the long-term 

productivity of cropland, 

forests, range, and other 

lands across New Mexico. 
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

| 12 |

Snow Survey & 

Water Supply Forecasting 

The winter snowpack contributes 50 to 75 percent of the flow in our 

streams and rivers with melting snow. The Snow Survey Program 

provides winter snowpack and stream flow forecasts for water users in 

New Mexico, including reservoir managers, irrigation groups, tribes and 

pueblos, and municipalities. In addition, NRCS participates in drought 

forecasting and mitigation in cooperation with other state and federal 

agencies. 

Snow surveyors from NRCS conduct monthly readings of snowpack 

depth and density at 56 locations throughout mountainous areas of 

the state. Included in these sites are 22 SNOTEL (snow telemetry) 

automated stations which report both climate and snowpack conditions. 

Snow Survey Activities 

In 2009, NRCS developed and released six Water Supply Outlook 

Reports with snowpack summaries and streamflow forecasts for New 

Mexico. These reports are developed and released at the beginning of 

the month from January to June each year. The reports include data 

and forecasts on the snowpack, reservoir storage, and anticipated water 

supply (stream flows) based upon the depth, density, water content, and 

aerial extent of the winter snowpack.

This past year, plans have been developed to expand the New Mexico 

SNOTEL network with five new sites in the Rio Grande Watershed, 

upgrades to 12 existing SNOTEL sites, and conversion of four manual 

snow courses sites with the latest SNOTEL technology. 

In addition to providing high-elevation snow and climate information, 

NRCS also operates a network of automated Soil Climate Analysis 

Network (SCAN) sites located in lower elevation areas across the nation. 

This system provides data on soil temperature and soil moisture content 

at several depths, air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, 

wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, and more. Currently, there 

are five SCAN sites in New Mexico, with another two scheduled for 

installation in 2010. 

The SNOTEL system can 

report numerous climate 

and snowpack conditions 

including precipitation, 

temperature, depth of snow, 

humidity, and wind speed.
The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO

FY 2009 Activities Report

 | 13 |

Resource Conservation & 

Development 

The NRCS Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) program 

is designed to help local groups and communities foster the conservation, 

development and utilization of natural resources. RC&D supports 

improved economic activity and seeks to enhance the environment 

and standard of living within RC&D Areas. RC&D Areas are locally 

sponsored areas designated by the Secretary of Agriculture for RC&D 

technical and financial assistance program funds. There are eight 

federally authorized RC&D Areas in New Mexico.

Current program objectives focus on improving quality of life through 

natural resources conservation and community development leading to 

sustainable communities, prudent development, and management and 

conservation of natural resources. 

Multi-Agency Collaboration for Forest Restoration 

3rd Congressional District 

The Adelante RC&D Council wrote and participated in writing grant 

proposals, assisted with monitoring, conducted outreach and/or 

provided administrative support for five collaborative forest restoration 

projects. Through the effort, the US Forest Service’s Collaborative Forest 

Restoration Program (CFRP) provided over $1.5 million for equipment, 

forest thinning and restoration, economic development and value-added 

forest products within the Adelante RC&D Area. This program has 

resulted in business and job creation as well as healthier watersheds in 

the Adelante RC&D Area. 

With coordination and facilitation from the Adelante RC&D Council, a 

number of partners participated in the effort, including: Adelante RC&D, 

US Forest Service, Tierra y Montes SWCD, La Jicarita Enterprise 

Community, Northeastern Contractors, New Mexico Highlands 

University Watershed Restoration Institute, New Mexico State Forestry, 

Wild Earth Guardians, Southwest Wood Products, University of New 

Mexico, New Mexico State University, and others. 

For every $1 NRCS invests 

in the New Mexico RC&D 

program, partners and other 

entities contribute $8.30 for 

local natural resource and 

community improvements.

2009 New Mexico RC&D Contributions

Congressional 

District

RC&D Funds

(from NRCS)

Leveraged Funds

1 $ 60,323 $ 750,000

2 $ 512,748 $ 4,869,996

3 $ 392,102 $ 2,360,984

NM 

Total $ 965,173 $ 7,980,980
United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resource Conservation Service

NEW MEXICO