River Restoration Sites

Western river systems are suffering from decades of abuse. Water diversions, flood control, roads, and domestic livestock grazing have all contributed to the degradation of western river systems. Over-allocation of rivers' waters, overgrazing by livestock and other stresses have eliminated native trees and allowed invasive non-native trees to thrive, making it impossible for critical river ecosystems to function properly.

WildEarth Guardians is working to reverse this abusive trend.  Our vision of river restoration begins with removing livestock from the area.  This allows a wilder, sustainable waterway to again thrive. We then remove non-native invasive trees by hand from the area and plant native cottonwood and willow trees.  It’s amazing to see that this simple process allows native vegetation to come back, forming streambanks that purify and cool waters and provide important habitat for wildlife. See riparian before and after restoration photos.

Leasing State Lands for Restoration

To respond to the ecological crisis caused by more than a century of livestock grazing and poor land management, WildEarth Guardians pioneered a new path in 1996 by becoming the first organization to lease state school trust lands for the purpose of conservation. Since then, we’ve acquired more leases and started new restoration projects with cities, counties, and private landowners.

Restoration Sites

Santa Fe River

WildEarth Guardians and the City of Santa Fe established the Santa Fe River restoration site in 1997. Livestock were permanently excluded from the area, invasive non-native vegetation has been removed, and native trees have been planted to restore a lush streamside forest.

This site includes the broad floodplain of the perennial Santa Fe River and is just a 15-minute drive from downtown Santa Fe. Since 1997, the site has grown to include almost two miles of the river within the Santa Fe Municipal Airport boundary.

Hundreds of volunteers have participated in restoration plantings and clean-up days, re-connecting many members of the community with its namesake river.  This once-barren stream has been nearly completely transformed and today new baby cottonwoods at the site are a sign of ecological resilience and health. The area is now a magnet for native wildlife, the water is much cleaner, and new wetlands have been created.

Rio Puerco

Known in times past as "The Breadbasket of Northern New Mexico," when WildEarth Guardians began leasing a portion of the Rio Puerco in 2001, it lacked native streamside vegetation necessary to hold its banks. Our Rio Puerco restoration site protects over 1,200 acres of land along a three-mile stretch of river.

With the exclusion of livestock and with WildEarth Guardians’ restoration efforts, the ares is being reclaimed.  As a result of years of effort, we have slowly brought this once-lush desert waterway back to life. In 2006, bald eagles and other native wildlife returned to this area for the first time in decades.

Babocomari River

The Babocomari river restoration site was acquired largely as a result of a landmark legal victory in front of the Arizona Supreme Court. This victory, won in 2001, overturned a century old policy which had prohibited non-ranching groups from holding state grazing leases. We followed up that legal victory by becoming the first non-ranching entity to successfully obtain a state land lease in Arizona when we acquired a lease along the Babocomari River.

The Babocomari is severely damaged. But, using WildEarth Guardians' process of excluding cattle from the area, removing non-native species and planting native cottonwood and willow trees, it will soon be a healthy ecosystem once again.  The Babocomari restoration site not only protects a portion of the Babocomari River, but also 160 acres of native Sonoran desert grasslands.

La Luz Creek

La Luz Creek and is located downstream from the Alamogordo Water Treatment Plant in southern New Mexico. The lush riparian ecosystem on this parcel is currently being decimated by off-highway vehicles, which use the land as a race course. Local community members in the area have applauded our efforts to eliminate off-highway vehicle use and will actively participate in WildEarth Guardians' fencing project.

Lost River

WildEarth Guardians' Lost River restoration site contains over a mile of the Lost River, important habitat for the threatened White Sands pupfish.  The area is infested with non-native, invasive salt cedar. WildEarth Guardians began leasing the Lost River parcel in 2006 and will clear invasive salt cedar so native trees will thrive here once again.

Rio Embudo

WildEarth Guardians' Rio Embudo site covers 2,078 leased acres. The Rio Embudo, a proposed Wild and Scenic River, flows though a rocky gorge. Thousand foot cliffs shelter nesting peregrine falcons. Here flow sparkling headwaters--the finest low-elevation riparian ecosystem in the Rio Grande Basin.

The proposed Summo copper mine by a Canadian company threatens this peaceful river area. Our lease entitles WildEarth Guardians stewardship of the surface resources, but not the mineral resources. WildEarth Guardians, along with local residents and the Picuris Pueblo, oppose mining in the area and our leases stalls the proposal indefinitely.